Teen saves toddler from drowning in pool on family holiday

A California teenager is being hailed as a hero after saving a toddler from drowning in a pool on Thanksgiving day.

Madison Atkinson, 15, jumped into the pool in her backyard after her three-year-old relative, Maxine, fell in as the family prepared breakfast at home on 23 November.

Footage from a home security camera of the family’s backyard showed the toddler falling into the pool after she snuck into the yard unbeknownst to her family.

The footage then shows the moment Maxine’s uncle found the toddler floating facedown “pretty much lifeless” four minutes after she fell into the pool before lifting her out of the pool and screaming for help.

Madison then jumped into action and began performing CPR on the child, the teenager’s mother Kirsten Atkinson said on Today.

“Madison’s just pumping away for a couple of minutes, and finally, Maxine starts to open her eyes and start to breathe,” Ms Atkinson said.

“The dispatcher said, ‘Put her on her side.’ And when we did that, Maxine opened her eyes and starts to literally breathe on her own,” she added.

The teenager had learned how to perform CPR at school, her mother said. “The entire time Madison’s there just calm, cool, collected, not panicked,” she said of the teenager.

When the paramedics arrived, Ms Atkinson said, they asked how old her daughter is.

“Their faces were just like, this could have been so different. They commended her and they said that, you know, she has performed a miracle,” she added.

The toddler has now made a full recovery, according to her family.

“It’s a Thanksgiving miracle,” Ms Atkinson said.