PORT SAINT LUCIE, Fla. \u2014 A quick decision to stop and help may have prevented a tragedy Saturday morning in Port St. Lucie, after a group of residents spotted a young child wandering alone near a retention pond.<\/p>\n
According to the Port St. Lucie Police Department, the residents were on their way to get coffee when they noticed something was wrong.<\/p>\n
They approached the child and tried to guide him away from the water, but he continued toward the retention pond. When the child entered the water, the residents followed and safely pulled him out.<\/p>\n
They then called 911 and stayed with the child until officers arrived.<\/p>\n
Police said the child was covered in fire ants. While officers cared for him, other residents and officers canvassed the surrounding neighborhood in an effort to find his home.<\/p>\n
They eventually located the child\u2019s home just up the street.<\/p>\n
Police later learned the child is autistic and had wandered away from home without his family realizing he was gone.<\/p>\n
St. Lucie County Fire District personnel evaluated the child and determined he was physically unharmed. He was then safely reunited with his family.<\/p>\n
Police said the incident could have ended very differently.<\/p>\n
The residents did not know the child or his family. They simply saw a young boy who appeared to be in danger and chose to stop.<\/p>\n
Their actions, stopping, intervening, calling 911 and staying with the child, helped ensure he made it home safely.<\/p>\n
The police department used the incident as a reminder that community members can play an important role in keeping one another safe.<\/p>\n
If you see someone who may be in danger, police encourage you not to assume someone else will intervene. Trust your instincts, call 911 and help if you can do so safely.<\/p>\n
In this case, a group of strangers noticed a child who needed help, and they chose not to look the other way<\/p>\n
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