Shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday, 16-year-old Anthony Alexander was hanging out in Collingdale Park with his friends when he heard screams coming from two little girls and a boy.
“They really need help. I was not going to sit back and let them sink like that,” said Alexander.
He first tried to use a stick to rescue the children before jumping up and pulling out a little boy and one of the girls.
Tonight we were talking to a teenager who jumped into icy water to save three drowning people. We also spoke to the first police officer at the scene, who also jumped. Collingdale Police Chief calls it “community effort” @ 6abc pic.twitter.com/RJfJ7j1yBT
– Jacqueline Lee (@JaclynLeeTV) February 22, 2022
“It was cold,” Alexander recalls. “As if I was shocked, as if my body was shocked.”
Colingdale Police Sergeant Pat Kilroy then arrived at the scene and jumped into the pond to rescue the rest of the little girl.
He said the reservoir is at least eight feet deep.
“They were very scared, they said, ‘Help my sister,'” Sergeant Kilroy recalls. “At that point you just left and I knew what needed to be done.”
Officer Yeadon and Officer Sharon Hill were also heading for help, but were involved in a clash near Bichwood and Lincoln Avenues. They received injuries incompatible with life.
Parents in the neighborhood said the pond needed to be fenced off.
“On a good day, children who wanted to go outside were inevitable,” said Princess Rahman, a father from Collingdale. “Nothing protects them.”
All the children affected by the accident were taken to hospital for examination and are expected to be all right.
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