Video: 9-year-old saves toddler who fell into lake
CADIZ, Ky. (WKRN) – A 9-year-old Kentucky boy is credited with saving a toddler who fell into a lake.
Kingston Smith was with his family when the child slipped and fell into a trench of water at Hematite Lake in Land Between the Lakes.
The concrete slab was covered in algae making it slick, so Kingston was keeping his eyes not only on his sister, but a toddler in the area as well.
“My sister slipped once so I started holding on to her hand, and we were following the boy,” Kingston told News 2.
The three kids walked over to look at the waterfall and the toddler fell into a trench of water that officers say was about 4 feet deep.
“He went underwater and then he popped back up,” Kingston explained.
In that moment, he says he didn’t think twice about reaching in and rescuing the crying child.
“I just bent down and grabbed him out of the drop off.”
Kingston shyly shrugs off being a hero but admits his actions warm his heart.
“Makes it feel fuzzy,” he smiled.
While it’s a day he will never forget, Kingston hopes to one day share the story with the little boy whose life he saved.
“Whenever he’s older, I hope that I’ll see him again.”
This week Land Between the Lakes officials held a ceremony honoring Kingston and presented him with a plaque for “extraordinary personal actions resulting in saving a life.”
“Here at Land Between the Lakes we are really proud of Kingston. What he did was exceptional. For a youth of his age to take those kind of actions is just amazing,” safety officer Mike Nova told News 2.
