Hillsborough: Drowning teen saved by park's lifeguards

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Drowning teen saved by park's lifeguards

Adventure Island's rescuers are praised for their quick work.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published June 19, 2007

TAMPA -- Lifeguards saved a 17-year-old girl from drowning in a pool Saturday afternoon at Adventure Island amusement park.

The girl was pulled from the main pool at the park, at 4500 E Bougainvillea Ave., by park lifeguards, said Adventure Island spokeswoman Aimee Jeansonne Becka.

The lifeguards performed CPR on the girl, whose name was not released, and Tampa Fire Rescue took her to University Community Hospital.

"They were doing their job, and they did their job quickly and responded," Jeansonne Becka said.

It's unclear what happened, but the girl's family said she has a history of seizures, Jeansonne Becka said.

The pool, which slopes from 4 to 10 feet, features a cliff jumping area.

Adventure Island is part of the Busch Entertainment Corp., which also owns Busch Gardens.

[Last modified June 19, 2007, 02:25:27]

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by Anna	06/25/07 06:52 PM
I hope to see the lifeguard reward, because the lifeguards at A.I. work very hard and deserve credit for watching over us. False reports are given all the time to lifeguards, i ont blame her for not responding right away,the guards at A.I. are awsome

by BRENDA	06/24/07 01:37 AM
I was there at the park this day and was very scared when i heard a girl was drowning i heard something different the kids were trying to get the lifeguards attention and they did not listen at first. i am glad the girl is ok i was praying for her

by Ann Kristina	06/22/07 08:38 PM
The lifegaurd who made the rescue must have had some of the best training in order to preform under that kind of pressure props to the lifegaurd.

by TAMARA	06/22/07 09:17 AM
I am glad to have been able to locate this story I was there feets away from her, my heart went out to her she looked so life less its good to know that she survived...

by Jim Bob	06/19/07 09:15 PM
I'm sure some ambulance chaser will try to blame this on Busch Gardens, the chlorine company, the life guards pediatrician, George Bush, etc...

by Shirley	06/19/07 04:08 PM
Thanks for having this article about the life saving by our youth of today.Not enough credit is seen in the media today for our next generation.My grandson was among those lifeguards,who aided this young woman and saved her life.They work hard

by Cheryl	06/19/07 02:40 PM
Thank you for writing about this incident that had a very happy ending. My family witnessed this and prayed for the girl, but couldn't find out if she made it or not.