DANIA BEACH, Fla. – A 1-year-old boy was hospitalized Tuesday afternoon after he nearly drowned in a lake in Dania Beach, authorities said.
The incident was reported just after noon at the Lauderdale Estates mobile home park in the 2800 block of Lakeshore Drive.
According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael B. Kane, the boy was missing for about 10 minutes when he was found in the lake by his mother and then rescued by a neighbor.
Kane said the boy was unconscious and not breathing when he was pulled from the water. The neighbor performed CPR on him until help arrived.
"My heart can't stop beating. I just, I don't know, I just kept praying, you know, 'Come on, God. Let this baby live,'" the neighbor, Carl Dickey, told Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa. "I didn't stop beating -- you know -- pounding on the baby and finally, after about 30 seconds, the baby snorted, started breathing."
Kane said firefighters revived the child, who was then transported to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood in critical condition.
"The child was crying upon arrival at the hospital, which is considered a good sign considering the circumstance of a near drowning event," Kane said in an email. "Much of the credit for the child's survival is attributed to the neighbor who selflessly entered the waterway and performed the initial rescue and initiated CPR."
Deputies are investigating the incident.
"There's a lot of people who say, 'You're a hero,'" Dickey said. "Maybe not a hero. I know God put me at the right place at the right time."