‘Blue and unresponsive’ toddler in pool saved by woman who heard Florida mom yelling

A toddler found “blue and unresponsive” in a Florida swimming pool was brought back to life by a school bus attendant, officials say.

It happened in Charlotte County, about 100 miles south of Tampa, and Charlotte County Public Schools officials identified the rescuer as district employee Kathleen Richardson.

The boy survived the ordeal, officials said.

“Kathleen was outside of her home, cleaning up after hurricane Ian. She heard her neighbor yell, ‘Someone please help me, call 911’,” the school district said in a news release.

“Kathleen dropped what she was doing, and ran behind the neighbor’s house to find the mother pulling their seventeen (17) month old child out of their swimming pool. The child was blue and unresponsive.”

Richardson said she “grabbed the child,” flipped him onto his stomach and began patting his back until pool water poured from his mouth.

“She then proceeded to perform CPR on this child, until EMS arrived. Kathleen did what she was trained to do, as a Charlotte County bus attendant,” the district reports.

The identity of the boy and his mother were not released.

However, station WBBH reports the boy’s name is Jagger and the incident happened in North Port as his mom and two siblings “were taking the trash out.” A search for Jagger led to an open door for the fenced-in pool and the boy in the water.

The boy’s mom told the station Richardson’s quick arrival “was like an Angel was there.”

This story was originally published November 16, 2022 at 4:27 AM with the headline "‘Blue and unresponsive’ toddler in pool saved by woman who heard Florida mom yelling."