SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ–Local police credited a bystander and two of their own officers with “taking quick actions to save a 3 year old from drowning,” according to a Nixle alert issued by the South Brunswick Police Department (SBPD).

The incident occurred at about 6:45pm on June 19, and involved a three-year-old boy from East Brunswick who nearly drowned after falling to the bottom of an in-ground pool behind a residence on Route 1 near Whispering Woods Boulevard.

The statement did not identify the bystander, but did identify the responding police officers as George Morgan and Jared Harpster.

“This Father’s Day could have been tragic if not for the efforts of Officer Morgan, Officer Harpster and the bystander,” said SBPD Chief Raymond Hayducka.  “The bystander’s quick efforts to revive the child and the officers rapid response and intervention saved this child’s life.”

The victim was attending the pool party with his father, and fell to the bottom of the pool after losing his grip on a raft, according to the statement.

“When the officers arrived they found a crowd of people in the backyard with one bystander performing CPR,” read the official statement.  “Both officers continued rescue efforts and the child began to [breathe] again.”

The statement also credited paramedics and members of the Monmouth Junction First Aid Squad, who took the child to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick.

“Witnesses say he was taken out of the pool within minutes but described him as being blue and not breathing,” reads the statement. “One of the people at the party knew CPR and started efforts to revive the child.”

The SBPD took the opportunity to “remind residents to take extra caution when hosting a party where young children can get access to the pool,” encouraging them to “have children [wear] flotation devices and have someone monitor the pool at all times.”

Editor at New Brunswick Today | 732-993-9697 | editor@newbrunswicktoday.com | Website

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.

Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.