Authorities say a 1-year-old boy who was pulled from a lake in Dania Beach Tuesday was revived by a quick-acting neighbor and paramedics who performed CPR.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue officials said the child had been missing for several minutes before a neighbor found him in a lake in the 2800 block of Lagoon Drive.
The boy was unconscious and not breathing when the neighbor found him, and the neighbor began to perform CPR. Arriving deputies and firefighters arrived and continued administering CPR.
"Firefighters aggressively administered advanced cardiac life support measures and thankfully, were able to successfully resuscitate the young child," Battalion Chief Michael Kane said.
The boy was taken to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood in critical condition, but was crying upon arrival, which Kane said was considered a good sign.
"Much of the credit for the child’s survival is attributed to the neighbor who selflessly entered the waterway and performed the initial rescue and initiated CPR," Kane said.
Hours after the dramatic rescue, the neighbor who pulled the boy out of the water spoke with reporters.
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"I kept praying, 'God, please let this baby live,'" Carl Dickey said. "God put me in the right place at the right time."
Dickey said he was leaving his home when the boy's mother came out of her home screaming that her baby was in the water.
"The mother was going crazy, none of them could swim," Dickey said.
Dickey said he jumped into the water, pulled the baby out and immediately went to work. He said he was relieved the child will be okay.
"I will never forget that baby," Dickey said.
