A 7-year-old boy managed to save his little sister and father who were trapped by the river current
"We are here thank God", the words of Steven Proust, a family man who for a moment thought he would never see his children again due to a tragic accident. The good news, however, is that the whole family is safe and sound and, although they were very scared, they are now all alive to tell it. It was a simple boat ride, in fact, and the father's boat was well anchored to the dock and the kids, Chase (7) and Abigail (4) were just having fun in the water. Suddenly, Abigail and Chase, who were swimming alongside the boat, were caught in an unexpected current and dragged out to sea. The father immediately jumped into the water to retrieve them, but he too was trapped by the current. To save the situation, it was little Chase, who managed to swim to the shore, struggling for about an hour, and call for help.
via People
Little Chase is only 7 years old and perhaps he didn't even know he could swim so well. Despite the incredible effort, Chase alternated the only two styles he knew to reach the shore and desperately seek help. Fortunately, both he and his little sister, Abigail, were wearing life jackets, safety devices that are always better to use even where there is no obligation to wear them.
The incident took place at the St. Johns River in Jacksonville, Florida, and Chase recalled the event with these words: "The current was so strong that my sister, who usually holds on to the back of the boat, let go. So, I let go of the boat too and grabbed her, and then I got stuck. I felt really scared."
The father immediately jumped into the water to try to save them, but it wasn't easy at all, due to the current: "I told them both I loved them because I wasn't sure what would happen. I tried to stay with Abigail as long as possible. I struggled so hard, but the current kept pushing her away from me." The father then told Chase to swim with all his might to the shore and go get help. Incredibly, the child was able to touch the ground after almost an hour of swimming and ran to knock on the door of the first house he came to on his way.
Rescue services immediately intervened: firefighters, helped by others perhaps from the local authorities, managed to locate Steven and the girl, still in the water, and to bring them to safety. They are safe and they owe it above all to the courage of Chase, a 7-year-old boy who managed to swim to shore in a situation of great danger, and to call for help.
A great little hero!
