MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. – Emergency personnel and a Manatee County family shared an emotional reunion after a quick-thinking neighbor and a coordinated team of first responders saved a young girl from a near-drowning.
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First responders and the Maynard family shared hugs and gratitude Wednesday afternoon during an emotional reunion.
The pool rescue
What we know:
On May 1, 3-year-old Leila Maynard was found unresponsive in an east Manatee County community pool. Leila’s mother, Zilda Maynard, pulled her from the water.
A good Samaritan named Courtney then performed CPR for several minutes before emergency crews arrived to assist.
Mother describes terror
The backstory:
Zilda Maynard recalled the absolute terror of the moment she found her daughter in the pool.
“When I saw my baby girl, I was the one who took her out of the water. She looked dead,” she said.
Leila later brought comfort to her family when describing the experience.
“Mom, I was just closing my eyes,” Leila told her mother.
Coordinated rescue efforts
Local perspective:
Telecommunicator Colton Horvath received the critical 911 call just six months into his job. Multiple teams, including deputies, emergency medical services, fire personnel, paramedics and an Aero Med crew, arrived to help.
“It was one of my first calls, all on my own, doing all the data input, speaking through, walking through CPR,” Horvath said.
First responder remarks
What they’re saying:
District Chief Beth Tucciarone praised the good Samaritan’s quick actions.
“It’s courageous. For anybody to do CPR on a stranger, let alone a child, is incredible, and she’s a true hero,” Tucciarone said. “It was truly a team effort, without one piece of the puzzle we couldn’t have done what we did.”
Tampa General Aero Med Flight Nurse Lorenzo Giannetti echoed those sentiments about the coordinated rescue.
“This is very much that of a feeling that this is exactly what we are supposed to do. We are proud of everybody. We are just one link in a chain,” Giannetti said.
Family celebrates recovery
Big picture view:
The family now refers to the emergency responders as their guardian angels who brought Leila back. The young girl was able to celebrate both her fourth birthday and her life.
“What they do is not easy, like they even said having a positive outcome is not always the norm, and it’s just to show that miracles still happen and God is with us all the time. We can believe in him,” Zilda Maynard said.
Honoring a hero
Dig deeper:
Following the reunion, Horvath placed his name on the Tree of Life at the Manatee County Public Safety Center.
The symbolic tree celebrates telecommunicators who assist with a delivery or bring a life back through CPR.
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