Grandpa falls face first into pool — then ‘fearless’ 10-year-old steps in, GA cops say
A 10-year-old girl is responsible for saving her grandfather from drowning after he went face first into a pool in Georgia, police say.
Aurora Waanounou watched as her grandfather fell into a pool and became unresponsive around 2:30 p.m. on June 2, according to Glynn County police. She immediately sprang into action.
Knowing that her grandmother can not swim, Aurora jumped in after her grandfather — even though he was in a deep area of the pool where she could not stand, police said in a June 6 Facebook post. Aurora managed to get her grandfather to the edge of the pool where she and her grandmother worked to turn him over and get his head above the water.
Once her grandfather’s head was out of the pool, Aurora immediately called 911, giving dispatchers her address and details about the incident, according to police.
“Without Aurora’s heroic, fearless, and decisive actions under extremely stressful circumstances, it’s possible that the outcome would have been different,” Interim Chief O’Neal Jackson III said in the department’s post. “Aurora’s instinct was to fight to save her grandfather’s life and ultimately, she did just that.”
Jackson presented Aurora with the Citizen’s Valor Award “for her acts of bravery” on June 5, the department said.
“You are an inspiration to us all,” one person commented on the department’s post. “You’re such an amazing and beautiful young lady!!!!”
“I have goosebumps,” another person wrote on the Facebook post. “Good job!”
“What a terrific, brave, young woman,” a third person commented. “Excellent work!!”
Glynn County is about 75 miles south of Savannah.
This story was originally published June 9, 2023 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Grandpa falls face first into pool — then ‘fearless’ 10-year-old steps in, GA cops say."
