Heroic 12-Year-Old With Down Syndrome Saves Little Sister From Drowning

A 12-year-old girl with Down syndrome is being called a hero after she rescued her younger sister from drowning in their family's pool in Michigan last week.

Carin Richardson and her sisters were drying off after swimming in their backyard when Carin decided she wanted to go back out for a couple more laps.

Unbeknownst to Carin, her 3-year-old sister, Jac'Lynn, followed her outside, unsuccessfully attempted to get into an inflatable pool tube and ended up falling through into the water.

Carin's mother, Tomarra Richardson, said Carin quickly, and calmly put on her goggles and saved her sister from the water.

She told ABC 12,

Without panic or fear, [Carin] grabbed her goggles, got in the water and pulled her sister out of the pool and into the house.

Tomarra got Jac'Lynn to cough up some water, but the girl was still taken to the emergency room as a precaution.

There, she was medically cleared and has been doing fine since the incident.

Carin's family says it is a miracle she was able to pull Jac'Lynn out of the pool that fast as people with Down syndrome often have slower reaction times.

The grateful mom told reporters,

[Carin] is our hero and Jac'Lynn is our little miracle baby.

You can watch the full ABC 12 story below.

Citations: 12 year old girl with Down syndrome hailed a hero after she rescues toddler sister from drowning (Daily Mail)