A college student is being credited with saving three girls from drowning during Seafair weekend in Seattle, according to FOX 13 Seattle. Lillie Vehling, who has past lifeguard experience, said the lifesaving move felt like second nature to her.
It happened this past Friday, when Vehling, a UC Davis student, went to see the Blue Angels at Genesee Park. As she scanned the water, she realized something was wrong.
Three girls were out fairly far, near a buoy lane that had been set up, and they did not look good. They were bobbing up and down, trying to get breaths, and one of the girls was pushing the others down in order to breathe. That is when Vehling knew she had to jump in.
She first grabbed the girl who was pulling the others under, to get her out of the situation so the other two would not end up in even worse shape. She then set about removing the girls from the water one by one, getting the first back to shallow water.
Vehling got the second girl to safety and then went straight for the third, who by that point was mostly underwater and appeared to be unconscious.
The third girl was also tangled up in the buoy rope, so Vehling had to act quickly. She said she could see only the top of the girl's head and her hair barely floating; she lifted the girl's head out of the water and held her up under the armpit. The girl coughed up water and regained consciousness.
Seafair honored Vehling for the rescue. Its president, Emily Cantrell, and her team invited her to the Seafair gala, where they knighted her as Seafair royalty and gave her a special view of the Blue Angels. Vehling, who is pursuing a career in the nuclear Navy, has admired the Navy squadron since growing up.