By Joe Johnson
A 4-year-old Athens girl on Saturday survived a drowning incident at Sandy Creek Park.
According to a police report, Helena Sofra Rodriquez of Norwood Circle had been with her family on the beach of the public park’s lake when they looked away for a few minutes before noticing her floating in the water.
Through a translator the girl’s mother “advised the child was probably under water 2-3 minutes before they were able to get her out,” a police officer wrote in the report.
The officer indicated that after Helena was revived the scene was turned over to fire and EMS personnel, but did not say in what condition the little girl appeared to be.
However, the child did survive the near-fatal drowning, confirmed Andy Gardner, spokesman for the Athens-Clarke County Fire and Emergency Services Department.
“My daughter and I were present during the incident,” a witness told Classic City News. “The child regained pulse and was taking short hard breaths.”
Comments