Albert Passavanti and his family were lounging by their home pool in Palm Beach County last Sunday when his toddler son fell into the water trying to reach a ball.
Knowing his son could not swim, Passavanti bolted from his chair and dove over the four-foot high pool fence to save his son –– mere seconds after he fell into the pool. Passavanti posted a video of the feat to his Facebook page, along with the caption “Baby gates only work when you close them."
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“The second you see it, you get Superman strength and just have to go for it, whatever you got to do,” Passavanti told WPTV . "It didn't even cross my mind to go around. It was point A to point B."
According to the Center for Disease and Control Prevention, children ages one to four have the highest drowning rates, and one of the best ways to combat these daunting statistics is to teach children basic swimming skills.
From now until August 31, the City of Tampa Department of Parks and Recreation is partnering with the Rays Baseball Foundation to offer free swimming lessons to children this summer.
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This article appears in Jun 20-27, 2019.