Swimming instructor rescues child in North Side Pool

By JOE GORMAN

jgorman@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Gina Brown said as a mom she always thinks any child she is teaching how to swim is one of her own.

Tuesday, she saved one of those children from possibly drowning while she was working at North Side Pool, 2160 Belmont Ave.

Police on the scene said pool staff credited Brown for getting the swimmer out of the water right away as soon as it was seen the child was in difficulty.

The girl, who was taking swimming lessons, was alert and sitting up when paramedics arrived and was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital for observation. She is expected to recover.

Brown was emotional as she recounted the incident about an hour after it happened. She is a swimming instructor for the YMCA who was at the pool to help teach swimming classes. Dawn Turnage, parks and recreation director, said the child was struggling after swimming lessons were over when swimmers had 30 free minutes in the pool.

Brown said she was helping another swimmer about noon when she caught the girl out of the corner of her eye.

“I saw a little girl bobbing up and down,” Brown said.

It appeared she was playing in the water, but a split second later she heard one of the lifeguards holler the girl was in trouble, so Brown abandoned the swimmer she was with and went to help the girl.

“When I got there, she was under water,” Brown said. “When I got her, she started coughing and throwing up water immediately.”

Brown said she decided 911 should be called because of the water that was in the girl’s lungs that she was coughing up. Despite being an instructor for several years, Brown said this is the first time she ever put her emergency training into action.

“This is my first rescue,” Brown said.

“I’m a mom,” Brown said. “When a child enters the pool, I look at that child as my own.”

Turnage credited the quick thinking of the pool staff and Brown for making sure the struggling swimmer was helped right away.

“Today they were ready,” Turnage said.