FAIRMONT- Sixteen-year-old Max Potter of Fairmont thinks of himself as a normal kid. He’s a sophomore at Fairmont High School and enjoys video games and taekwondo. But last weekend, Max did something extraordinary as he pulled a young child out of a swimming pool at a hotel near Des Moines, Iowa.
Max was in the area to watch a cousin at the state wrestling tournament. On Saturday he was in a hotel pool playing catch with his nephew and said he was aware of several other small children in the pool, including a young boy.
“Then I noticed a young kid lying under the water there,” Max said.
Max admitted that he was initially panicked when he saw the child under water, but that he tried to remain calm.
Max’s mother, Kayla, was also in the pool area, which she said wasn’t very big.
“Max had been playing and I was sitting with my oldest daughter when I heard Max talking. My eyes went straight to him and he was carrying a boy,” she said.
Max had pulled the boy out of the water and brought him to the edge of the pool. He said he started shouting, ‘there’s a kid here, there’s a kid here.’
Kayla said space was made for the child and that she called 911. She said the boy’s mother was “wrestling around with him” and that some other bystanders were trying to help.
“I feel like everyone should brush up on CPR,” Kayla said.
The boy ended up opening his eyes and coming to as police officers and first responders arrived on scene.
Lieutenant Steve Nore of the Johnston, IA Police Department, said he reviewed responding officer Andy Curry’s body camera.
“Obviously Max knew something was wrong right away and he took immediate action,” Nore said.
He said that it sounded like Max got to the child pretty quickly and that he wasn’t underwater very long.
“Max’s quick action definitely prevented what could have been a tragedy,” Nore said.
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
