Good Samaritan helps save woman from drowning at Gandy Beach

One of the men who helped save a woman from nearly drowning is sharing his story. He and his family were at the beach when he noticed the woman face down in the water and not moving, so he rushed to help.

Alfredo Guzman was at Gandy Beach with his wife and two kids on Saturday when he saw a 6-year-old boy trying to save his mother from drowning. Guzman swam out and pulled her to shore. Luckily, another man was there to help and gave her CPR. Officials said both of these men saved her life.

Guzman said he is still reeling from his split-second life-saving decision.

"Out of nowhere I hear a commotion. There was yelling. ‘She's drowning. She's dead. She's dead,'" Guzman recalled.

He jumped into action when noticed the woman floating face-down and motionless.

"She's vomiting a lot of water. So I literally ran down the beach and down the shore to where they were 30 feet away and I helped a man drag his daughter. I told him, 'Give me your daughter' and I pulled her out of the water," Guzman said.

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He pulled the woman to shore but she wasn't moving and at one point didn't have a pulse.

"I basically put her on her side, I didn't know what to do. I was panicking so I screamed for somebody who knew CPR and Mr. Herrera came out," he said.

Diego Herrera, 26, came to the rescue and began performing chest compressions.

"We thought she was gone, then Mr. Herrera kept going and he didn't lose hope. After the fourth or fifth session she started vomiting more water," Guzman said.

Paramedics later arrived around 6 p.m. Saturday evening and transported the woman to a local hospital where she's now recovering with serious injuries. Deputies said she was intoxicated and didn't know how to swim.

"This man just saved her life I was part of it. I helped out and I'm just glad we were there that day," Guzman said.

Deputies are hoping this can serve as a reminder to everyone about just how important it is to drink responsibly, especially if you're going to be on the water. Always be sure to wear a life jacket if you can't swim, and even if you can, it never hurts to have one nearby.