Teenager Saves Cartersville Girl, 3, From Drowning

A teenager is being hailed as a hero for saving the life of a Cartersville toddler.

Cartersville resident April Gary Hill took her three children, ages 3, 2 and 1, to Dellinger Park last Wednesday.

According to WSB-TV, the children were feeding bread to ducks and fish when Daniah Hill, 3, slipped through the railing and fell into the pond as she threw the last piece of bread into the water.

Hill told the news station she screamed for help while her daughter flopped around in the water. Hearing the screams, three teenagers — identified as Paulding County residents Corey Troupe, Josey Green and Niko Kleowdis — sprang into action.

Corey Troupe jumped into the pond and pulled Daniah to safety, according to The Daily Tribune News. In a rush to get her daughter to the hospital to be evaluated, Hill said she didn’t think to get the names of the teens who help her daughter.

The next day, Hill contacted the Daily Tribune in an effort to track down the teenagers responsible for ensuring her daughter lived to see another day. Nearly a week passed before Hill heard from Troupe’s mother, who said her son may be one of the teenagers involved, the Tribune reported.

Hill said she was told the teens were at a restaurant near Dellinger Park, and she ventured into the eatery where she finally met the trio responsible for the heroic act.

“Tears were rolling down my cheeks and I just grabbed them and starting hugging them and saying, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you’,” she told the newspaper. “I couldn’t say it enough.”

Initially, Troupe told WSB that he was only able to grab Daniah’s shirt, but he eventually was able to reach her arm. He cradled the toddler close to his chest as he pulled her to safety.

He said he would have committed the same selfless act for anyone else in danger.

“It’s just what you’re supposed to do,” he told WSB.

Photo: from left to right, From left to right: Niko Kleowdis, Corey Troup, Daniah Hill and Josey Green. Credit: WSB-TV