Hazelwood Central Student Uses Class Lesson, Saves Man's Life

You never know how a school lesson could help in the real world, especially in a life-or-death situation.

Travorus Barnes, a Hazelwood Central High School sophomore, recently rescued a man from drowning at a local pool thanks to a lifeguard class he took at school.

“I knew I was learning important skills, but you always hope you don’t have to use them,” he said in a press release. “You don’t think you actually will; that kind of stuff happens to other people. I was glad I was able to use what I learned and be successful.”

A man who had attempted to dive into the pool knocked himself unconscious, and Barnes heard the commotion that a man was at the bottom of the pool.

After getting out of the pool to get closer to the situation, Barnes dived in and got the man out of the pool.

“I learned in class the most important thing is to stay calm,” he said in the release. “I also learned that when you are pulling a person out of water, you have to keep their head above the water. That’s all I was thinking about. I just wanted to make sure I kept his head above the water.”

After pulling him out the water, others performed CPR until paramedics could arrive.

“I’m happy he didn’t die and I was in the right place at the right time,” he said. “God was there. Everyone was pretty scared, but I knew what to do and I was able to do what I needed to do to be helpful.”

Barnes said he had taken the class but didn’t expect to be able to use the skills he learned from it.