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Three friends jump in, rescue girl from poolBy LINDA GIBSON © St. Petersburg Times, published April 15, 2001 TEMPLE TERRACE -- Nine-year-old Queen Brown wasn't supposed to go near a swimming pool by herself. She can't swim. So before she left to join her friends Friday afternoon at the nearby Terrace Club apartments pool, she slipped her bathing suit on underneath her clothes, hoodwinking the 15-year-old aunt who was babysitting her. Her mischief might have cost her her life if friends had not saved her from drowning. Paramedics took her from the pool to University Community Hospital just after 6 p.m. Friday. She spent Friday night at the hospital and was released Saturday. Queen was dangling her feet in the pool with Edwin Stephen Torres, 10, Jovonna Harris, 10, Tatiana Grayson, 9, and Rosheika Jackson, 9, when the urge to jump in overwhelmed her. She stepped off the edge and promptly sank to the bottom, 6 feet down. "Next thing you know, Jovonna is saying, "Look, look, she's drowning,' " said Edwin. They saw her struggle to rise while bubbles from her breath boiled to the surface. There were no lifeguards or adults around. Edwin, Tatiana and Rosheika jumped in. They all know how to swim. Queen wasn't moving when they reached her, Edwin said. Edwin and Rosheika each grabbed an arm, while Tatiana held Queen's legs. The three of them pulled her to the surface and hauled her out of the pool. "She opened her eyes, said, "Help me,' then her eyes rolled back in her head," said Edwin. The children's quick action has earned them a nomination for a civilian hero award from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, said Lt. Harold Winsett. Queen and her guardian, 51-year-old Sharon Bea, talked to reporters and television crews Saturday after they returned home from the hospital. Why did she go into the pool? reporters asked Queen. "I didn't know it was real deep," she said. Although still a little shaken, the rest of the experience wasn't too bad for her. She said the ambulance ride was like a roller coaster, and she got to watch the movies Bambi and Aladdin in the hospital. Her guardian, Bea, did not have as much fun. "I'm definitely going to see about getting her some swimming lessons," she said. "I never realized how important it is for a child, especially in Florida."
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