Bystander Saves Kids Who Fell In Pond

A Colorado woman sprung into action after she looked out her window and saw three kids fall into an icy pond near her home. Dusti Talavera, 23, said she did not hesitate to put on her shoes and rush to the pond, which is 15 feet deep. “Before I realized it, I was on the pond pulling the two kids out, and that’s when I fell in the pond for the third kid,

The three children, who were 4, 6, and 11, were playing on the frozen pond at about 3:30 p.m. when the ice gave way. After pulling two of the children out of the water, Talavera fell through the ice while helping the last one, a 6-year-old girl named Zakiyah Williams. Luckily, the girl’s teenage cousin came out and threw Talavera a rope and helped pull them both to safety.

When deputies from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office arrived, the 6-year-old was not breathing. They took off her wet coat and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. The girl was taken to the hospital for treatment and released home to her family two days later. South Metro Fire Engineer Corey Sutton said the incident was like a perfect storm. ‘I have four boys. What she did was amazing. I hope if something like that happened to one of my boys, someone like her would be close by,” Sutton said.

Dusti and Zakiyah reunited after her recovery so her parents could thank the bystander that saved their little girl. Zakiyah’s parents, Tashaira and Walter Williams, expressed their gratitude toward Talavera. “They saved my baby and I just really want to thank them for saving her,” Tashaira Williams said. “It was like a puzzle,” Walter Williams added. “Every piece had to go together for it to work and the puzzle got put together so fast it saved my daughter’s life.”