Hero saves five-year-old boy from drowning in Brooklyn pool after city lifeguards fail to react

Hero New Yorker saves five-year-old boy from drowning at public pool in Brooklyn after city lifeguards fail to react

  • Anthony Torres, 37,  was at the McCarren Park pool with his family on Saturday evening when people started screaming about a boy drowning in the water
  • Torres, who was a lifeguard for two years about 10 years ago, sprang into action and pulled the boy from the water
  • Torres said no lifeguards reacted while the boy was at the bottom of the pool, that they ‘attacked’ him told him to ‘go home’ after he saved the boy

A man pulled a five-year-old boy from the bottom of a Brooklyn pool after city lifeguards failed to do anything to save the drowning boy, witnesses said.

Anthony Torres, a DoorDash delivery driver and former lifeguard, was cooling off at the McCarren Park pool with his family on Saturday evening when people started screaming about a boy drowning in the pool. 

The 37-year-old Brooklyn resident ran to the water’s edge, where he saw the small boy curled up in the fetal position at the bottom.

Torres said nobody – the lifeguards included – made a move to save the boy, so he dove in and pulled the him from the pool.

Anthony Torres, a DoorDash delivery driver and former lifeguard, was cooling off at the McCarren Park pool with his family on Saturday evening when people started screaming about a boy drowning in the pool

‘I started yelling for somebody to come and do their job,’ Torres told DailyMail.com, ‘They just were staring at me from the chair, everybody was just staring at me.’

Torres said once he had the boy out of the pool, he placed him on the ground and water started flowing out of his nose and mouth. 

The lifeguards then arrived and began to administer CPR for about three minutes before the boy was finally revived.

The 37-year-old Brooklyn resident ran to the water's edge at the McCarren Park pool (above), where he saw the small boy curled up in the fetal position at the bottom

The 37-year-old Brooklyn resident ran to the water’s edge at the McCarren Park pool (above) where he saw the small boy curled up in the fetal position at the bottom

After the near-drowning, the McCarren Park pool was closed for the rest of the day

After the near-drowning, the McCarren Park pool was closed for the rest of the day

After the boy came to, Torres said the lifeguards ‘started attacking’ him and told him to ‘go home.’

A member of Torres’ family, who was at the scene, agreed the lifeguards treated him terribly. 

‘The lifeguards just attacked him, treated him unfairly and put their hands on him, treated him like he didn’t do a heroic thing. That was their job,’ the family member said.

A spokesperson for the NYC Parks Department said two lifeguards went to help the boy while the other two remained in their chairs to keep a watch on the safety of the other swimmers. 

‘Two NYC Parks lifeguards ran to aid the child and administered CPR responsive to a patron’s cries for help after they removed the child from the water,’ the spokeswoman said in a statement. 

They didn’t comment on the treatment Torres said he received from the lifeguards.

Through tears, Torres described the rescue as 'traumatic,' saying 'I was a lifeguard for two years, I never seen nothing like that. It was a very traumatic experience'

Through tears, Torres described the rescue as ‘traumatic,’ saying ‘I was a lifeguard for two years, I never seen nothing like that. It was a very traumatic experience’

Police officers on the scene after Anthony Torres, 37, pulled a drowning boy from the McCarren Park pool on Saturday evening

Police officers on the scene after Anthony Torres, 37, pulled a drowning boy from the McCarren Park pool on Saturday evening

The boy was transported to the Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn and was expected to recover, according to police and fire officials. 

The pool was closed for the remainder of the evening following the incident.  

Through tears Torres described the rescue as ‘traumatic.’

‘I was a lifeguard for two years, I never seen nothing like that. It was a very traumatic experience,’ he said. 

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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk