Teen Nearly Drowns After Hitting Head, Falling Into Pool
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (WCCO) -- It was a close call Thursday morning after an Illinois teen nearly drowned while visiting a Twin Cities hotel.
Quavis West was with family at the Sheraton Bloomington swimming pool when the accident happened, but a quick-thinking nurse stepped in and saved his life.
It was around 11 a.m. Thursday when the 14-year-old and his family decided to take a dip at the pool.
Chatelle West said everyone was having a good time, when suddenly she heard her brother was in trouble.
"We thought he was playing," she said.
It was no game. The 14-year-old slipped, hit his head and fell into the water.
"I got up and I looked and I saw him at the bottom of the pool, so I yelled," she said.
Family scrambled to get to the boy, but it was a nurse who was also at the pool, who pulled him from the water.
"She put him on his side, and she made sure he was breathing until the police came," Chatelle said.
Quavis had a pulse, but wasn't breathing. His family watched as the nurse gave him mouth-to-mouth.
"Me and my sister was crying. Everyone was crying. We was scared. He was bleeding a lot, too," Chatelle said.
By the time paramedics arrived, Quavis was breathing on his own. He was taken to Fairview Southdale so doctors could check on him. But, the family is giving the credit to an off-duty nurse, who was in the right place at the right time.
"Yeah, a hero," said Terrance Turner, a relative of the victim.
The family says Quavis was not a strong swimmer. The hotel does not have lifeguards on duty, but does have signs posted warning parents to watch their children. Management did not return our call.
