An off-duty Highway Patrol trooper saved a young girl’s life after she was found Sunday at the bottom of a community pool.
Trooper Jack Dixon Jr. and his family were swimming at the Grace Ridge subdivision’s pool just off Grace Church Road.
He noticed a father distraught in the pool and observed a child at the bottom, according to statement released Wednesday.
Dixon jumped into the pool and pulled the child out of the water and began CPR. The child’s lungs were filled with water so the breaths were not effective, but he continued administering CPR.
He rolled the child on her side and began pushing on her chest to remove the water from her lungs. After several minutes, the child responded and began to cry.
Rowan County EMS arrived and transported the child to a local hospital where she was treated and released two days later. The girl’s name has not been released.
“Trooper Dixon’s actions saved the child’s life,” said Col. Walter J. Wilson Jr., commander of the North Carolina State Highway Patrol.
“I am proud to be the commander of an organization comprised of people like Trooper Dixon.”