By Corrections1 Staff
HARRISBURG. Pa. — A Pennsylvania corrections officer received a Medal of Valor for saving a boy from drowning.
According to the Times Leader, officer Shaun Skursky and his family were on a vacation in South Carolina when they heard someone screaming for help at their hotel’s pool.
A 12-year-old Michigan boy was stuck under water after his knee jammed in an open intake pump.
Skursky attempted to lift the boy out of the pool, but the pump wouldn’t allow it. Fortunately, the officer was trained in CPR, so “he ducked his head underwater and began to force air into the child’s mouth.”
The officer repeatedly gave the boy CPR while trying to pull him to the surface. The force of the pump was so strong, four people weren’t able to free the boy.
Maintenance was able to shut off the water pressure and the boy was freed.
For his actions, Skursky and the other rescuers received a life-saving award in South Carolina last year. Skursky recently was honored by Corrections USA with its Medal of Valor during a conference in Las Vegas.