Maintenance Worker, Police Officer Save Child In Near Drowning

We are learning more about the heroics it took to save a girl who nearly drowned in Oklahoma City over the weekend.

Wednesday, May 21st 2014, 10:36 pm

By: News 9


We are learning more about the heroics it took to save a girl who nearly drowned in Oklahoma City over the weekend.

The girl is in critical condition after falling into a pool at Belle Isle Terrace Apartments in the 4800 block of North Blackwelder. A maintenance worker at Belle Isle Terrace Apartments pulled the unconscious 6-year-old girl from the swimming pool, then called 911 on Saturday.

Caller: We've got a drowning child. I need, I need response right away.

Dispatch: Is she breathing?

Caller: No, I'm trying to get her to breathe. I do believe she is already deceased.

Oklahoma City Police said the pool had a gate around it and it was locked, but a group of kids managed to get inside and the girl fell in. The children's screams alerted the maintenance man.

Dispatch: I need you to help her, OK? I need you to give her those two breaths.

Caller: The officer is with her right now.

Dispatch: OK, is he doing CPR?

Caller: Yes.

That officer was Chase Ladd.

5/17/2014 Related Story: Possible Drowning Reported At NW OKC Apartment Complex

"This is my first time doing CPR on either a child or an adult," said Ladd.

Ladd hopped the fence and saw the girl sprawled out by the pool with her eyes open, looking lifeless.

"She was unresponsive. She didn't have a pulse and actually had a little bit of foam coming out of her mouth. So when I couldn't find a pulse on her, I began CPR," Ladd said.

Ladd has been on the force for about two years. He said his training kicked in and he started chest compressions on the girl.

"It's definitely not something I was prepared for to see a child laying on the side of a pool and originally I thought she wasn't going to make it, which was pretty tough," explained Ladd.  "But I'm pretty ecstatic to hear she's still alive."

Police said they also had to overcome a language barrier in this case because the witnesses and family only speak Burmese. They say this should be a reminder to parents to watch children closely, especially now that pool and lake season is here.

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