Star athlete at UTSA helps save child in pool accident

UTSA track stand-out Tyler Williamson is seen in an undated courtesy photo provided June 4, 2012 by the university. Wiliamson is being credited with saving young boys life who nearly drowned in a pool on Sunday afternoon. less UTSA track stand-out Tyler Williamson is seen in an undated courtesy photo provided June 4, 2012 by the university. Wiliamson is being credited with saving young boys life who nearly drowned in a pool on Sunday ... more Photo: COURTESY Photo: COURTESY Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Star athlete at UTSA helps save child in pool accident 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

UTSA long jumper Tyler Williamson wasn't supposed to be there.

About to participate in the most important track meet of his life, Williamson had better things to do than pick up an extra shift at the neighborhood pool in the Wildhorse subdivision, where he works as an attendant. But being a college student, he needed the money.

The 3-year-old boy Williamson revived via CPR late Sunday afternoon will be forever grateful he did.

Williamson said he was still coming to grips with the experience as he traveled Monday to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Des Moines, Iowa. He is seeded fifth out of 24 athletes in the long jump, which begins Wednesday.

Williamson will at least be able to compete with a clear head after learning that the boy, Jaden Muhlenbruch, who was flown to North Central Baptist Hospital after being revived, is expected to recover.

“I would have been (distracted) if I knew the boy wasn't OK yet,” said Williamson, a junior from the Houston area.

“Now that I know his parents are going to be able to see him grow up, I won't be worried about that. I'll be able to recover and do pretty well, I hope.”

Williamson said the ordeal began about 5 p.m., near the middle of his second seven-hour shift of the weekend. His typical responsibilities include mundane tasks such as pool maintenance and checking member tags at the gate.

“I don't really get to know the residents very well,” said Williamson, who has been on the job on the Northwest Side little more than a month. “I'm just there to clean the pool.”

But he did much more than that after Jaden was pulled unconscious from the pool by neighborhood resident Anthony Huerta. The boy had been under the water for roughly a minute, Williamson said.

Huerta, who was at the pool with two of his four children, was the first to spot Jaden's limp body on the bottom of the pool and reach him.

“He could have just been a shirt, he was so still,” Huerta said.

“It looked like his eyes were almost open. ... I couldn't get that out of my head, his little face — all blue.”

“That's the scariest thing for a parent,” he said.

No one saw or heard him go in, Williamson said.

Williamson spent three years as a lifeguard in high school, during which time he pulled two swimmers from the water. But never had he been forced to use his CPR training. Indeed, Williamson said he hadn't practiced in more than a year.

“When I heard him breathe,” he said, “it was probably the greatest moment of my life. It was kind of like a miracle. It was like I knew exactly what to do.”

One of the first people Williamson called after Sunday's incident was his grandmother, Bonnie Carr, who had inspired him at the start of the season to reinvigorate his career at the University of Texas at San Antonio after a lackluster outdoor season last spring.

He responded on all fronts, jumping 25 feet, 83/4 inches at last week's NCAA preliminaries to set a school record while finishing the year with a 3.71 grade-point average.

“I was lacking discipline in the places it was needed,” Williamson said. “I made a change, and things are going good now. It's always good to get rewards for trying hard and doing your best.”

In more ways than one. Not only will Williamson be credited with a full shift after the pool closed early, the Wildhorse homeowners association gave him a bonus — one he hopes he never has to earn again.

“That's just the cherry on top,” he said. “The biggest thing is that this boy is all right. I can only imagine his parents. They never came up and officially said thank you, but I know they're grateful.

“I'll probably see them when I'm back up at the pool. I still don't know their names. But maybe there's some kind of bond.”

The boy's mother, Yezenia Gomez, was not available for comment Monday. His father, who identified himself only as Mike, said they were grateful for Williamson's help. The family declined to comment further about the incident and asked for privacy.

“We are very thankful,” the father said. “We want to sincerely thank him.”

The child's baby sitter, Rebecca Fox, 17, said Jaden is a well-behaved child, though “a little rambunctious,” like any child his age.

“He's really sweet,” Fox said.

Neighborhood resident Andrea Black said that although Williamson was not a lifeguard, he always looked out for the safety of people at the pool. He had even turned away Black's 16-year-old son recently because he was not old enough to swim unattended.

“You can just tell he has a big heart,” Black said.

A Metropolitan Health District official said state law does not require lifeguards at neighborhood association-owned pools unless there is a slide or a diving board.

“Or you can have diving boards and slides with no lifeguards, as long as they're able to be chained off barring access when the lifeguards aren't there,” said Stephen Barscewski.

Since January, 20 children have died in Texas from water-related accidents, including one in Bexar County. About 60 percent occurred in pools, according to Mary Walker, a spokeswoman for the Department of Family and Protective Services. This year's number is substantially lower than the 34 in the first five months of 2011 and the 33 in the same period in 2010.