INDIANAPOLIS — A young boy and his father in Marion County are reliving some scary moments when the boy saved another child from drowning. Now, the county is honoring the boy for his bravery.
Floyd Karrer, 10, had been practicing holding his breath, swimming to the bottom of the deep end to pick up bricks, stones and other items this summer. However, he never could have known how much that practice would pay off.
It was like any other hot day. Earlier this summer, Floyd visited a neighborhood pool near Holliday Park to cool off with his dad, Paul Karrer.
"Through the middle is just where it slopes down, and there's been other kids, and you see them go down, and you've given them a boost back to the shallow end," Paul said.
That day, however, they were taking a break from the water when Floyd happened to spot another boy who was a few years older.
"I saw him cannonball over there, and then a few minutes later, there were kids over here, they were saying, 'Hey, there's a ball at the bottom of the pool,'" Floyd said. "Then, the kids said, 'No, not a ball, a boy.'"
Floyd didn't hesitate, jumping in and swimming to the bottom of the deep end. The boy was slumped over, nine feet down.
"He was unconscious," Floyd said.
"When he did come up and had the boy, I was in shock," Paul said. "There was no 'there' in his eyes. He was gone."
Floyd got him out, pulling him on the ground next to the pool. His dad ran over, giving the boy CPR while others called 911.
"Once he took those first few gargled breaths, I was like, 'Wow,'" Paul said.
Paramedics arrived and rushed him to the hospital.
"That's the last I saw of him," Floyd said.
They don't like thinking about that day and what would have happened had Floyd not been there to jump in.
"If he's starting at 10 years old, I can't imagine how many other people he'll help," Paul said.
The family called the hospital the next day and was told the boy was going to be OK.
Floyd would like to find the boy and be able to see him again. However, so far, they haven't been able to connect.
In the meantime, the city heard about this story and sent Floyd a proclamation, thanking him and honoring him for his bravery.