Visiting New York responders save drowning Florida girl

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Police in Florida say two visiting New York first responders helped save a 3-year-old girl who was drowning in a hotel swimming pool.

New York State Trooper Matthew Colwell and Jessica Campeta, a firefighter from Hudson, New York, pulled the child from the deep end of the pool at the La Quinta Inn in Daytona Beach on Tuesday evening.  Colwell and Campeta revived the child before paramedics arrived.

"Blink of an eye! Turn your head, hear mom scream, I just jumped up, and you know your instincts kick in and you do what you're trained for and do what you can," Campeta said.

She began to perform CPR on the child and Colwell called 911.

"There was a lot of fluid in her, so I was trying to get it out and clear her lungs. She did get a lot out, but she wasn't fully breathing on her own."

In a matter of minutes, the little girl was breathing.  

Police said in a statement that the girl was taken to a hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.  The child's mother told FOX 35 that she is forever grateful for these two "angels" from New York.

"Very unexpected. You don't' want to ever see anything like that or be a part of it," Campeta added. "Glad she's doing well!"