INDIAN ROCKS BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) – An off-duty Hillsborough County detention deputy saved a 3-year-old boy from drowning at a local water park, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies said 3-year-old Michael Andrews was floating motionless in the lazy river at the Splash Harbor Water Park in Indian Rocks Beach Saturday around 4:45 p.m. Detention Deputy Habib Hanze visits the water park frequently.
Hanze heard a witness calling for help and helped pull Michael out of the pool. Hanze determined the boy was unresponsive and was not breathing so he immediately started CPR. He was able to successfully resuscitate Michael.
“As we were going on the lazy river, a lady in front of me she was in a tube, she had a tube, and she started yelling for help saying there was a child under the water,” Hanze said. “Immediately, I took the child out of the water, placed him on the surface on the side and right away started performing CPR.”
“His eyes were rolled back; he had foam coming out of his mouth, so I just started performing CPR. I knew it was crucial at that moment to save this little kid’s life. It was just a reaction as a father … Training with the sheriff’s office kicked in. It was just a crazy moment,” the deputy added.
Michael was transported to All Children’s Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Deputies determined the child’s mother lost sight of him for six to seven minutes, officials said. The mom thought Michael was being supervised by another family member at the water park.
Deputies do not suspect foul play or negligence in this case, authorities said.