Pair Down on Their Luck Save Boy in Pool

Cedric Williams and Stanley Glover didn’t think of themselves as heroes. They spent Thursday watching daytime TV, about the only pastime available to the two unemployed men.

But at about half past 1, Glover--who had just left Georgia and a bad marriage--and Williams, recently out of county jail, both earned themselves a bit of fame and redemption.

They used cardiopulmonary resuscitation to revive a 4-year-old boy found floating unconscious in their apartment house swimming pool, saving the youngster’s life.

The boy, nicknamed “Paquito,” had apparently been playing beside the pool before falling in the water, according to neighbors. Two carpenters working nearby, Luis Enrique Rodriguez and Eliseo Camillo, spotted the boy floating face down. They quickly pulled him out and began screaming for help.

Williams, 19, and his roommate, Glover, 36, heard the screams from their second-floor balcony and looked out to see the two workers holding the boy’s apparently lifeless body.

They rushed downstairs.

“He was blue, his lips were purple and his eyes were wide open,” said Williams. “I was scared because I really thought he was dead.”

While Glover exerted steady thrusts to the boy’s chest, Williams administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“I counted 1-2-3, then Cedric would give mouth to mouth. 1-2-3, then Cedric with mouth to mouth,” said Glover, who learned CPR in high school. “After about five minutes he started to cough up some yellow mucous and some of the water. He was OK.”

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman Bryan Humphrey said firefighters received a 911 call about the boy at 1:24 p.m. Paramedics arrived to find Williams giving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

When paramedics took over, the boy was breathing. They took him by ambulance to a helipad at Van Nuys Airport, where he was flown to UCLA Medical Center. A spokeswoman reported the boy in fair condition Thursday afternoon.

“Their quick action was paramount in this child’s survival,” Humphrey said.

One neighbor in the building said she had seen the boy playing frequently near the pool with adult supervision. She said a railing should be installed around the pool.

Glover and Williams had moved into the building less than two months ago. Both men have been searching for jobs in the San Fernando Valley with little success.

Maybe luck is on the way.