Dusti Talavera looked out of her apartment window one Sunday afternoon and saw a group of children playing on the frozen pond at her complex in Arapahoe County in Denver.
The icy surface suddenly cracked and there was a splash. Dusti was trying to pull the children out of the water before she realized it.
Dusti, upon seeing the horrible scene, threw her shoes on and ran out into cold air to reach the 15-foot deep pond where the children had fallen.
She managed to rescue a 4-year-old girl, an 11-year old boy, and then she plunged into the freezing water herself to save a 6-yearold girl.
During that terrifying moment, all she could think about was saving the children.
“Nobody was really outside,” Dusti, 23, said during a press conference. “I just knew it was me that had to do it.”
She tried to pull her and the child out but the ice was too slippery. Dusti treaded water to stay afloat as she tried to hold the unconscious child’s head above the surface.
Thankfully, a 16-year-old relative of the little girl—believed to have been underwater for over two minutes—came and threw them a rope and pulled them to safety.
“I’m thankful for that young man who threw the rope,” Dusti said. “I would have been in there longer, she would have been in there longer. I don’t know what would have happened.”
The girl and her savior made it to the surface but the former wasn’t breathing and had no pulse. When first responders arrived at the scene, Deputy David Rodriguez immediately took off the girl’s soaked winter coat and performed CPR to get her to breathe on her own.
“We reverted back to what we were trained to do,” Deputy Justin Dillard said. “We’re all fathers and we all have young kids. It’s hard to see a 6-year-old girl whose face is blue with her eyes open and not responding, not breathing.”
As the girl started to breathe, she was rushed to Children’s Hospital, where she was reportedly in a “stable” condition. She was transferred to Denver Health Medical Center’s intensive care unit. The sheriff’s office said she is now in “serious” condition but is expected to survive.
The two other kids who fell into the frigid water weren’t injured during the incident and are safe at home.
Cory Sudden of the South Metro Fire Rescue was moved to tears as he recognized Dusti’s life-saving act during the conference.
“I have four boys. She did amazing things. We were back at the fire station talking about how brave she was … and, gosh, I hope if this happened to one of [my boys], that somebody like her was close by,” he said.
Dusti told the police she “wasn’t concerned for her safety because they were babies and they needed help.”
“The fact that we had her witness these kids fall in there and her quick reaction … in putting her life at risk for the kids to make sure that they could make it another day is amazing,” said Deputy Blaine Moulton.
The officer said that the incident should remind parents about ice safety. The Colorado weather is unpredictable and can change from cold to hot, so ice on frozen bodies may not be as thick or as it appears.
Authorities are currently investigating the incident but are not expecting to bring any criminal charges.
Dusti Talavera, thank you for saving these children’s lives. You are a true Hero! Check out the video below for more information about this inspiring story.
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