BOWLING GREEN, OH — Keep in mind the twin brothers from Bowling Green, Ohio, who saved a toddler from drowning in a hotel swimming pool while on vacation last month are only 6. Bryant and Peyton Switzer immediately recognized the girl, 3, was drowning in the deep end of a hotel swimming pool in Orlando, Florida.
The girl wandered away from her mother as she was packing the children up to leave, slipped out of the floatation device that had kept her safe in the shallow water of the pool and jumped in to join the older boys, who were splashing around in the deep water.
She sank to the bottom like a rock.
Peyton jumped in after her and put his arm around her, then handed her off to Bryant, who was waiting at the ladder. He helped her out of the pool. (Find your Ohio Patch here and subscribe to real-time news alerts and free morning newsletters. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)
“They didn’t even think twice. They went into action,” Amy Walters told the Bowling Green Independent of her sons’ swift response that saved the toddler from drowning. “We’re very proud of them.”
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The boys, who are taking swimming lessons this summer at the Bowling Green city pool, knew the girl was drowning because her head kept bobbing under water.
“You know it’s very rewarding to know that some of the things they are involved with just became an instinct to them,” D.J. Dieter, Walters’ fiance, told television station WTOL. “So being in the swimming lessons and Safety Town, they recognized that the little girl was in trouble right away.”
The boys are strong swimmers for their age, their swimming lessons teacher, Mia Schempf, told the Independent. They are “super smart kids” and applied what they had learned in a recent class that had focused on water safety.
“We teach them safety in and around the water,” Schempf said. “It’s awesome they were able to save someone.”
Walters and Dieter didn’t get the name of the mother whose child the twins saved, but described her as grateful.
Walters told the Independent her sons are “little fish” who would “live in the water if you’d let them.”
The twins were recognized for the heroism by the Ohio House of Representatives, the Sentinel-Tribune reported.
“Thus, with great pride and satisfaction, we honor you for your heroism and salute you as one of Ohio’s finest citizens,” said state Rep. Theresa Gavarone, a Bowling Green Republican, who presented them them with certificates honoring their heroism.
She made the presentation last week at City Park, where the boys take swimming lessons through the Wood County Park District.
“You are certainly to be commended for your courage. At a time when many people are content to take a passive role in life, you took an active role in helping a fellow citizen, and you have earned the gratitude of the young girl and her family.”
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The boys’ father, Ryan Switzer, said his sons regularly swim at his house and have taken lessons for two years now.
“You never expect them to save somebody else, you just want to teach them to swim,” he said.
“The boys have no idea. I just wanted to do something special,” Gavarone told the Sentinel-Tribune before the presentation. “Swimming is the one skill you can teach your kids that can save lives. It’s great to see that they’ve taken their skills that they’ve learned here and put them in action.”
DROWNING DOESN’T LOOK LIKE YOU THINK
You might expect to see flailing arms or hear a frantic call for help when someone is drowning, but drowning doesn’t look like you may think it does. Real-life drowning happens quietly and not at all like the dramatic scenarios that play out on television. People can’t simply stop drowning long enough to take in a breath of air and call for help. The human body isn’t built that way.
Children can drown right in front of parents, as little as 10 feet away.
Drowning is the second most common cause of accidental death among children 14 and younger, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 750 children drown each year, 375 of whom do so within 25 yards of a parent or adult. More startling, the CDC said 10 percent of parents watch their children drown because they don’t know it’s happening.
Before people drown, they may thrash around in the water — a sign they’re in “aquatic distress,” which may or may not happen before a drowning. They’re normally able to assist in their own rescue by grabbing lifelines, throw rings and other devices.
Rescuers have as few as 20 seconds and up to a minute to save a person from drowning.
Photo: Renee Schiavone / Patch