Kids are curious. We may tell them not to do things, but at the back of their minds, they would think, what if?
For a child, seeing an icy pond means fun.
It was a chilly afternoon, but four kids didn’t mind. They were having a great time playing on the icy pond in The Addison at Cherry Creek apartments.
Seeing them wasn’t something out of the ordinary.
Surely, their parents have told them and warned them to be careful. Unfortunately, accidents happen.
Dusti Talavera, a resident in the apartment complex, looked out her window and saw the kids fall in the icy pond.
Without hesitation, Dusti, only 23 years old, went out and ran towards the icy pond. She didn’t care if it was 15 feet deep.
Talavera used all her energy and pulled two of the kids successfully.
“Before I realized it, I was on the pond pulling the two kids out, and that’s when I fell in the pond for the third kid,” Talavera recalled during the press conference that was held the following day.
When Talavera began pulling the 6-year-old child from the icy pond, she also fell into the water.
The child was struggling, and Talavera lost balance and fell. At that moment, another 16-year-old young man came to the rescue.
The young man was the cousin of the 6-year-old child.
Rescuers rushed to the scene. They knew they had to act fast because even though the report said everyone had gotten out of the icy water, one of them wasn’t breathing.
Even though cold and wet, Talavera rushed the little girl on the sidewalk.
The rescuers came, and Deputy David Rodriguez wasted no time. He began chest compressions and even mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
Then, two more deputies came to the scene. Deputy Justin Dillard and Deputy Blaine Moulton acted fast. They rushed the little girl to the Children’s Hospital.
“Seeing her breathe was a massive relief,” Dillard said.
It was a terrifying experience for everyone. It was every parent’s nightmare.
The little girl was transferred to Denver Health, and according to the doctors, she was in critical condition, but they gave assurance that she would live.
In the press conference held on Monday, the responders, who were also parents, shared their thoughts about the nightmare that happened.
All of them felt grateful to Talavera, who acted quickly and bravely to save the kids.
She risked her own life for them.
“We were talking back at the fire station after it happened, and I hope if something like that happened to one of my boys, someone like her would be close by,” Sutton, who was teary-eyed, said.
South Metro Fire Rescue posted about what happened on Facebook and also gave a warning to everyone.
“This weekend and already this evening, SMFR has received multiple calls for people & animals going out onto ice covered bodies of water. Please be advised this is extremely unsafe, and with our warmer temperatures today, the ice is not sturdy, and you can easily fall in.”
Let us be more vigilant with our surroundings and always be careful.
Watch the entire news report about the incident and ice rescue below.
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