If there’s any age, aside from a child’s teenage years, that stresses out parents, it has to be when their kids are toddlers. It’s like one minute they can barely sit upright, and the next, they are motoring around all over the place on those fast, chubby, little legs! And any parent raising a toddler can tell you just how fast they can get themselves into trouble as soon as you turn your head. Such was the case in one perilous situation where a toddler had wandered a bit too close to a swimming pool. The incident happened in a backyard in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, when a one-year-old named Rocco Passavanti was having a fun day out in the sun with his family by their swimming pool.
The child had not learned how to swim yet, but while chasing a colorful beachball, he managed to fall into the pool. A home security camera would capture the entire heartstopping incident as it unfolded. Rocco’s family had put up a little fence around the pool, but the child walked through a gap to continue the pursuit of his beachball. Thankfully, Dad was sitting just a few feet away at a table, keeping a watchful eye on his son.
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And as the child began getting a bit too close to the pool’s edge, dad immediately yelled and pointed, instructing his son to be careful and get back. However, the 18-month old toddler was too fixated on his prize, and as he tried to grab the ball, he fell into the pool. It all happened in a blink of an eye, and seconds after Rocco hit the water, his dad flew out of his chair and into the air, easily clearing the 4-foot mesh gate around the pool.
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It was like something out of a movie how his father launched himself into the air to come to his son’s rescue.
“Anybody can do that. Anybody can jump over a fence, you know. A kid’s in trouble. You know, you’ve got to get to them as quickly as you possibly can,” Albert told Inside Edition.
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And since then, the video of this remarkable rescue has been viewed over 11 million times on YouTube. But most importantly, it serves as a reminder to keep a very close eye on small children, especially near swimming pools.
“You just absolutely have to keep an eye on your kids. I don’t care what measures you put in place. Tragedy can happen,” he concluded.
You can also watch an Inside Edition report about this incredible story in the video below.