LAPLACE, La. — Quick reaction saved the life of a toddler who was pushed into a pool and the hero in this story is only 7-years-old.
Jayson Williams Jr. is like many other first graders. He loves basketball, playing with other kids, and swimming at the pool.
"Jayson always wants to go swimming," said his aunt, Kenya Wilson.
Saturday Jayson was at a pool at Wilson's apartment complex in Metairie. Another family with a few kids was also there.
"They just started running around the pool and at some point my mom said 'one of those kids is going to fall in,'" Wilson said.
In a matter of seconds, one kid pushed a toddler into the pool.
"Someone just pushed the little boy in the water," Williams told us.
"He just was down and all you see was his feet, not even his ankle, just barely his feet," Wilson said.
Jayson immediately swam over to him and got him out of the water.
"I saved the little boy," he said.
"Just quick thinking, scooped him up and put him on side of the pool," Wilson said.
According to Wilson, the parents of the child never saw what happened.
"Jayson was the only one in the area," she said.
Because of a language barrier, they still may not know. Wilson posted about it on Facebook.
"When I read it, I'm like 'wow my son is a hero,'" said Jayson Williams Sr.
Williams wasn't surprised by how his son reacted.
"Just his instincts," he said.
His instincts prevented what could have been a very different story. A child underwater can drown within seconds. It can be quick and silent. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, drowning kills 1,000 children every year.
This March, AAP updated their recommendations to prevent drownings, saying toddlers can start learning to swim as young as one year old.
"It could have been tragic," Wilson said. "I say God because he was at the right place at the right time."
This potentially tragic story took a turn though thanks to a 7-year-old whose instincts make him a hero.
"He's a hero, he's a hero to me," Williams said.
Research shows nearly half of drowning's happen within 25 yards of an adult and because drowning can be silent, they may not realize what's happening until it's too late.