A man and a woman are hospitalized after almost drowning in a D.C. swimming pool Thursday evening.
At about 5 p.m., someone noticed the people at the bottom of the deep end of the pool at Theodore Hagans Cultural Center in Fort Lincoln.
“There was a gentleman in the pool, and he’s like, ‘Hey, we got two bodies in here.’ Oh no, he didn't even say ‘two bodies.’ He just said, ‘You got some bodies in here,’” said Jermain Hunter, who has taught CPR classes for 15 years.
“It didn't click until I looked into the pool, because, again, the demeanor of the person that said it, he was just casual with it,” he said.
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Lifeguards and other swimmers pulled the man and woman out of the pool unconscious and not breathing.
“You had the female to my right, and then you had the male to my left, so I started CPR with her,” Hunter said. “So, it was me and I think another lifeguard, and we started with her, whatever. And then the more lifeguards came. They were starting to clear the pool, getting everybody out, things like that. And then a group of lifeguards were helping the young lady, and then I moved over to the gentleman.”
He and the others did their best until first responders arrived and took over.
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“We were able to successfully resuscitate both patients,” said Vito Maggiolo of D.C. Fire and EMS. “They were subsequently airlifted to a hospital in critical condition at the time of the airlifting.”
What caused the man and woman to go under is under investigation.
“The biggest thing right now, is just, how are they doing?” Hunter said. “It’s emotional.”
He said it’s a reminder of the importance of knowing CPR.
“I encourage everyone to take a class,” he said. “You know, learn it. You hope you never have to use it, but just having just enough instinct to know how to do the compressions.”
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