A Newton County Sheriff’s Office deputy may have saved the life of a minor who was not breathing after drowning.
NCSO Deputy Joseph Lightsey responded to a call in reference to a drowning at 40 Spring Valley Trace in Covington on Sept. 1 at 3:51 p.m. When he arrived at 3:54 p.m., the child’s grandmother came to the front door, and Lightsey saw the child lying on the “front walk of the residence,” according to the NCSO incident report.

The incident occurred in a swimming pool of an unreported size in the front yard, according to NCSO Sgt. Cortney Morrison.

Lightsey checked the drowning victim for any signs of life and concluded he was unconscious, not breathing and did not have a heartbeat, according to the report. He began conducting CPR by doing chest compressions and “heard him mumble a sound” after several attempts.

He stated in the report he could then see the child began to breathe again but remained unconscious and had a “very good heart beat.” He could hear there was still water in the boy’s lungs, so Lightsey sat him up, patting him on his back in an attempt to get him to spit out the water.

At that point, the report states, EMS arrived, and Lightsey instructed family members to stand back so medics could have room to help the boy. Medics transferred him to the back of the EMS unit and informed Lightsey the boy would be airlifted to Children’s at Scottish Rite hospital in Atlanta.

Sgt. Morrison said the case was turned over to CID to make sure no foul play was involved in the incident, but “at this time, it appears to be an accident.”

She was unable to confirm or deny the boy is alive, but she did confirm he was alive when EMS personnel transported him from the scene.