Three Ohio teenagers are being heralded as heroes after saving the life of a total stranger, who was drowning in a Portsmouth Holiday Inn swimming pool this January.
Marilyn Culp, Emilia Hall, and Junzi Williams are credited with rescuing a Michigan woman who was struggling to stay afloat in the deep end of the pool. When the girls heard cries for help, they sprang into action. “It was such a fast situation that we didn't have time to think, ‘I’m scared: What do we do?’” Culp said. “We just had to act in that moment.”
“In a way she was sinking,” Hall said. “Her boyfriend was holding her by her feet in the air. At that moment, I knew I had to get into the pool because he was struggling to lift her.”
The three girls helped get the woman out of the pool, and Hall performed CPR, which she’d learned in school.
“I just never thought I would have to really use it,' Hall said. 'I am so thankful. The fact that there is a life still living today because of us … That’s amazing. That’s how thankful I am.”
The girls were honored with a “Life Saving Award of Recognition,” given by the Portsmouth Fire Department.
“Without your willingness to help a total stranger, the outcome would have been much different,” said Fire Chief Debby Brewer.
It had an impact on the fire department, which is now talking to school leaders about the importance of teaching CPR in schools.
The experience also had a profound impact on the girls.
“I want to go into nursing, so I feel like God has put me there for a reason in that moment,” Culp said.
