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Wednesday's Internet Edition, January 07, 2009.
‘He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’
Nine-year-old hero saves little brother from drowning
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Jesse (left), Orlando Jr., and Orlando Torres are happy that a quick reaction prevented possible tragedy this past weekend.
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By Gwen Stevenson
Staff Writer
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A day that could have ended in tragedy ended up being one with a happy ending. Many similar situations don’t end so well, but a big brother was aware and reacted quickly and may have saved his little brother’s life.
Orlando and Veronica Torres live near the corner of a street named Happy Lane in Galt, and after this weekend, they have another reason to be happy.
Orlando was doing some cleanup work in the backyard with the boys playing close-by. Nine-year-old Jesse was on a skateboard and two his two-year-old brother, Orlando Jr., was playing on a scooter.
While the family swimming pool is safely and properly fenced, and normally the gate is closed and padlocked, there is no smooth concrete to skateboard on except inside the fenced area of the pool yard.
With dad not too far away, the boys seemed safe enough.
That’s when Jesse, who was on the far side of the pool looked over and didn’t see his little brother. At the same time, dad saw that Orlando Jr. had scooted too close to the edge and had fallen into the pool, but he was on the other side of the fence.
Seeing his little brother sinking to the bottom of the pool quickly, Jesse immediately jumped into the pool and pulled his brother to safety. With no time to spare, he got to him faster than his dad could have, while Orlando jumped over the fence and helped out.
“Jesse didn’t hesitate at all,” said Orlando. “I knew he had him. It was fast thinking and a quick reaction.”
Jesse, a third grader at Fairsite Elementary School in Galt, learned to swim at around the age of four and is a strong swimmer.
“I can go way into the deep end at the Galt pool,” said Jesse.
Both boys enjoy the water, but Jesse said it was terrible when his brother was in the water and wasn’t supposed to be.
“I always want to watch over my little brother,” Jesse said. ”Always watch out.”
Little Orlando is starting to say some words as two-year-olds will do, and Jesse is happy to have been able to keep his brother safe.
“I love my brother,” said Jesse. “I’m proud of myself.”
Statistics say that, among children ages one to four years, most drownings occur in residential swimming pools. Most young children who drowned in pools were last seen in the home, had been out of sight less than five minutes, and were in the care of one or both parents at the time. It can take only seconds, not even a minute for a child to drown.
Officials say to, designate a responsible adult to watch young children while in the bath and all children swimming or playing in or around the water. Adults should not be involved in any other distracting activity (such as reading, playing cards, talking on the phone, or mowing the lawn) while supervising children.
When asked if little Orlando was hard to get out of the water, Jesse responded, “No, he wasn’t too heavy.”
Like the popular song from the 1960s says, “I’m strong, strong enough to carry him…He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother.”
When it’s your brother, you’ll do whatever it takes. Good job, Jesse.
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