Eleven year old Connor Fitz-Gerald was enjoying a fun day in the sand at Marina Dunes with his friends.
The kids worked as a team to build caves so big they could crawl inside them.
Connor was digging through the sand when he came across something that instantly turned this play day deathly serious.
One of the girls playing at the dunes had crawled inside one of their sand caves when suddenly it collapsed on top of her. The five-year-old was buried alive and nobody saw it happen.
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It was a miracle that Connor came across little Alyssa while he was digging and immediately jumped into action. The poor girl was unconscious, her mouth, nose, and eyes covered in sand.
With no adults nearby to help, Connor dragged her out of the sand himself. He then performed CPR on Alyssa, a skill he says he learned from watching the TV show NCIS.
Tim Fitz-Gerald, Connor’s father, could not be more proud of the way his son responded to the potentially tragic situation. “I am glad he was able to sit back and go, wait a minute something’s going on, there’s not a parent here, I know they’re at least a quarter mile away, I need to do something,” he said later.
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The parents called the paramedics who arrived shortly after. They said Connor very well may have saved her life with his quick actions.
Alyssa has recovered fully from the incident and is doing just fine. As for Connor, he was later given the National Youth Hero Award from the American Legion Auxiliary.
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