TEEN HONOURED FOR SAVING DROWNING FRIEND
Teenager recognized for saving best friend from drowning
Garrett Whittle and Matthew Williams had been friends for years, but a scary incident in 2016 made their friendship even stronger.
The North Sydney boys had just finished their final Grade 10 exam at Memorial High School in Sydney Mines, and decided to spend the June 23 evening swimming.
The teenagers, along with two other friends, went to the Georges River bridge, a popular location on Long Island Road where swimmers are known to jump off the structure and into the Georges River Inlet.
Whittle, 16 at the time, had jumped off the bridge and was swimming to the shoreline at about 7 p.m. Williams, 15, followed by doing a front flip off the bridge, smashing heavily into the water on his stomach.
At the time, the other boys thought little of it, until they realized Williams wasn’t resurfacing.
“The guy on the top of the bridge kept telling us that he wasn’t coming back up and that he was still sinking,” said Whittle. “As soon as he said that I knew that I had to save him.”
The impact of the water had knocked the wind out of Williams, who had passed out and began sinking 25 feet under water.
Fortunately for Williams, Whittle had successfully completed his
standard first aid and national lifeguard courses in April 2016 and knew what to do.
“I was knee-deep in water at the time it happened, so I swam out and dove down under the water and pulled him up and dragged him back to the shoreline,” said Whittle.
Once back on shore, Whittle told his other friend to call 911 for help. He proceeded to treat Williams for shock and kept him calm.
First responders arrived a short time later and Williams was transported to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital in Sydney by ambulance. He spent two days in the facility with a concussion and water in his lungs.
“I don’t really remember much that happened; I remember jumping off the bridge and then slightly remember coming up out of the water, but that’s it,” said Williams.
“If it wasn’t for him, nobody else would have been able to help me — I’m lucky that he did because I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for him.”
For his heroic effort that day, Whittle was given the M.G. Griffith Award by the Lifesaving Society of Nova Scotia.
The award is presented to a person who applies skill and knowledge gained through lifesaving society programs to aid a victim in a life-threatening emergency.
Whittle, a lifeguard and supervisor at the Northside Community Pool, was presented with the award by Nova Scotia Lieutenant Governor Arthur J. Leblanc last month in Halifax.
“It was an honour to receive the award, it was a really cool experience,” said Whittle, sitting at his kitchen table.
Williams’s mother nominated Whittle for the award. As part of the process, Whittle was asked to write a short story, explaining the terrifying ordeal.
“I immediately thought it was a good idea,” said Williams of the nomination. “I had really hoped that he would receive the award – he saved my life.”
The incident hasn’t stopped the boys from going to the Georges River bridge.
“We were there a few times since then, but we weren’t really going there all the time anyway,” said Williams. “I’m not really nervous to go back there, but I probably won’t do any flips into the water anymore.”
With the summer season just around the corner, many Cape Bretoners will spend their days at beaches, rivers and lakes across the island.
Whittle has a message for those planning to venture into the water.
“Water is more dangerous than you think and you have to be very careful,” he said.