PENSACOLA, Fla. — A 9-year-old Florida boy who pulled his father from the water after the man fractured his neck in a diving accident is being hailed a hero.
“All I remember was that he said he broke his neck and he said he was scared,” Asaih Williams told the Pensacola News Journal on Wednesday.
Asaih, who has never had formal lifeguard training, knew something was wrong when his dad, Josh Williams, didn’t immediately surface after diving into shallow waters of the Santa Rosa Sound on Saturday, the newspaper reported.
Asaih said when he’s diving with someone, he gives the person a set amount of time to emerge before he goes in to help. “I had a little time limit in my head. If I jump in and the person I’m jumping with in that certain amount of time (doesn’t come up), I go after them.”
Despite a 100-pound weight difference between the father and son, Asaih was able to turn his facedown dad over to prevent him from drowning and keep him afloat while slowly dragging him to shore.
Josh Williams underwent spinal surgery and is expected to recover.
