Florida’s Nicole Grayson dies after saving son from St. Johns River
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Authorities and her family say a “hero” mother from Florida has died in St. He said he died after he used all his strength to keep his 4-year-old son above the water after he fell into the St. Johns River, allowing rescuers to pull him to safety.
According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, Nicole Grayson, 43, jumped into the river after her young son fell into the water at Ed Stone Park in west DeLand around 4 p.m. Saturday.
Investigators said the boy was playing with an unidentified object near a wooden riverside fence when he knocked it over the barrier. The boy fell into the river while trying to save him.
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Grayson quickly followed after him.
Nicole Grayson brought her 4-year-old son to St. Louis in Central Florida. He drowned after rescuing him from the St. Johns River. (GoFundMe)
“My guess is he was trying to get it. He slid deep in the water, just slid through the water,” said Dafino Devega, Grayson’s oldest son. FOX 35. “Then I think my mom panicked and went into the water and tried to save him.”
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As Grayson tried to keep his son above water, a bystander at the park stopped a boater who threw two life preservers to the mother and child, the sheriff’s office said.
Grayson eventually sank into the water as he continued to keep his son afloat.
The person who frantically called 911 told dispatchers that rescuers had managed to reach the child but were still trying to save his mother.
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“Hey 911, can you come to Ed Stone Park?” In the voice recording obtained by FOX 35, the caller said, “We have a mother who is drowning, we took the baby, but we cannot take the mother.”
On July 18, a 4-year-old boy was found dead in St. Louis, Volusia sheriff’s deputies said. A memorial of daisies was placed near the fence where he fell into the St. Johns River. According to deputies, the boy’s mother drowned after jumping into the river to save her son. (Patricio G. Balona / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)
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The boatman maneuvered himself close enough to pull the 4-year-old boy onto the boat. According to authorities, the child was not harmed.
Witness Jon Reaka said Grayson devoted all his energy to keeping his son alive.
“She spent all her energy trying to throw her child off the cliff,” Reaka told FOX 35.
Reaka jumped over a railing into the boat and helped pull Grayson out of the river. He was unresponsive when brought aboard.
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“I jumped over the guard rail, jumped into the boat and pulled the woman into the boat and you know we started CPR – I immediately started CPR and mouth to mouth,” Reaka said.
Emergency medical personnel administered life-saving measures after arriving at the park. Grayson was taken to the hospital, where efforts to resuscitate him continued for several hours.
The sheriff’s office said the woman died in the intensive care unit around 10 p.m. Saturday evening.
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Speaking to FOX 35, Reaka said, “I tried everything I could to save him. You know, I feel very bad. I mean, it’s very sad what happened.”
The mother of six said Grayson’s recent behavior reflected the fiercely protective style she experienced, her family said.
“That’s the kind of mother she was; she was a hero,” Devega said.
“My mother was a strong woman,” he added. “She would do anything to keep her children safe.”
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Nicole Grayson, a 43-year-old Florida mother of six, rushed to St. Louis to save her 4-year-old son. He died after jumping into the St. Johns River. (GoFundMe)
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood praised the witnesses and the boater who rushed to help Grayson and his son.
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“Sheriff Chitwood and the entire Volusia Sheriff’s Office extend their sincere thanks to all who stepped forward to assist in the rescue and extend their deepest condolences to Ms. Grayson’s family and friends for the loss of a mother who gave her life to save her son,” the department said in a statement.
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Chitwood said Grayson will be remembered as a hero, “not just for her last heroic act, but because she was a mother who would do anything for her children.”
