It took seconds for a green inner tube meant to hold 3-year-old Kali Dallis above water to flip on its side, plunging the girl headfirst into the pool at her Chamblee apartment complex. Kali had jumped into the shallow end with the small pool float around her waist. When the float tipped, she became trapped with her feet in the air.
Then her body slipped out of the tube, and she went under. Ed Lyons, a veteran officer and the father of a 6-year-old girl, was about two miles away at the Chamblee Police Department when he got the call that a little girl had drowned.
By the time an ambulance arrived, the 3-year-old was spitting up water and Lyons was able to find a pulse, but she was still unconscious. She was hooked up to a ventilator for several days at Scottish Rite. Doctors anticipate Kali will make a full recovery, Channel 2 reported.
Her mother calls it a miracle. Be careful. Watch your kids. The incident could have ended very differently. About one in five people who die from drowning are children 14 and under.
Recently, Lyons visited Kali at the hospital. The 3-year-old, who is now off the ventilator and walking around, gave the officer a hug and, with a little prompting, thanked him. Wear life jackets when on a boat. Children and inexperienced swimmers should also wear life jackets. Support real journalism. Support local journalism. Subscribe to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution today. See offers. Your subscription to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution funds in-depth reporting and investigations that keep you informed.
