An East Galesburg teenager is being hailed for his heroic efforts during what started as a routine day of fishing. Dalton Sims, 13, received the Citizen Life Saving Award from the city of Galesburg for preventing a two-year-old child from drowning.
After grabbing some McDonald’s for lunch and making a stop at Walmart, Sims head to Lincoln Park with his mother on April 17. As he cast his line out on the park's pond, Sims noticed the child playing around the pond, and kept an eye on her in case something happened. Sims raced into action when it did happen.
“(I) saw her left leg slip, and I took off running. And got over there and threw my phone and my hat off, and jumped in and got her,” Sims said.
The child had gone under the water. Sims pulled her out and to safety. He said the act was something that came naturally to him.
“What if it were my younger siblings? If they had fallen in, I would have done the same exact thing. Whether I knew them or not, just -- just go right for them and try to save their life,” Sims said.
Sims received a plaque from the city along with a gift of a new fishing rod.
