'Heroic' Teenager Saves 7-Year-Old Boy from Drowning in California Lake: ‘Truly Saved the Day'
Drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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A 13-year-old boy is being praised for his heroics after saving a 7-year-old from drowning in a California lake.
Lazaro Perez was visiting Lake Nacimiento Resort with his family on Sunday, Aug. 18, when he saw another child “fall off a tube near the shoreline,” according to a statement shared on Facebook by the Monterey County Park Rangers Association.
The teen, according to The Tribune, “immediately jumped into action” after realizing the boy did not resurface.”
The child was not wearing a life preserver when he fell off the tube, officials said.
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Perez quickly located the 7-year-old and brought him back to shore, according to the Rangers Association.
Crews with Monterey County Park Rangers, Cal Fire Station 33 and San Luis Ambulance “evaluated the patient” at the scene, they added.
Family eventually transported the child to a local hospital “for further medical treatment.”
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The Rangers Association applauded the teen in their statement, commending him for his bravery the day prior. They described him as a “heroic young man.”
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“Thank you, Lazaro,” the Rangers Association wrote on Facebook, “you truly saved the day!"
Related: Dad Saves His 2-Year-Old Daughter from Drowning, Recalls Holding Her ‘Limp’ Body and Praying
Drowning deaths are on the rise in the United States, according to a news release published in May by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The study suggests over 4,500 people died due to drowning each year from 2020 to 2022, up 500 per year compared to 2019, health officials said. These numbers come after “decades of decline,” they added.
Some groups that were already at a higher risk for drownings — including toddlers, adults 65 years and older and Black people of all ages — “saw the greatest increases in drowning deaths.”
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