Quick Thinking Averts Child Drowning

The quick thinking and action of a fence installer helped save a little girl's life in Snellville over the Fourth of July weekend.

The little girl was found floating in a pool, after only moments of being left alone on a swing at a home on Hickory Circle, according to a Snellville Police report released July 8.

Terry Peavy, 39, of Commerce, and his 31-year-old girlfriend, Amy Brown, were at the Snellville home to install a fence near the pool. According to the report, Brown put the child on a swing, and then helped Peavy uncover the pool. The two began carrying lumber to the area where the fence was being installed.

Meanwhile, Shawna Houston, the homeowner, left the area to grab ice for a cooler. When she returned to the pool, she grabbed some floaties and threw them in the water. That's when she noticed the child was missing. 

Houston, Peavy and Brown began searching for the child. That's when they saw her "face down in the pool," according to the report.

Peavy rescued the child from the pool, rested her on a flat surface and began administering CPR with Houston until emrgency workers arrived about 3:40 p.m.

Houston, Peavy and Brown could not be reached for comment on this story.

The incident was logged by the Snellville Police Department as "reckless conduct," and it's not the first time this summer that a child has fallen into a pool or experienced a water mishap. Earlier this summer, a Doraville child was sucked into a

To read tips on how to keep children safe in or near water, read our mom columnist's piece,

In the case of the Snellville child, tragedy was averted, but with the summer days continuing strong, it serves as a reminder of the dangers that are present.