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Pregnant woman rescues 3 drowning children from Lake Michigan

File photo of grass tuft along Lake Michigan (Getty Images)

MANISTEE COUNTY, Mich. (WJW) — A pregnant mom is being hailed a hero after she jumped into Lake Michigan to save a group of kids who were drowning.

According to People Magazine, the incident occurred at First Street Beach Pier on Tuesday at 5:40 p.m. Alyssa DeWitt, who is five months pregnant, was on the beach with her children when she saw arms waving in the water.


DeWitt, who outlined the situation in a heartfelt Facebook post, said she immediately got her own kids out of the lake and ran onto the pier.

“A group of kids were getting pulled out into the lake and slammed against the pier wall. They could barely keep their heads above water,” she wrote. “They were literally drowning in front of my eyes and there was not one person on that side of the beach I could scream to for help. It was empty.”

DeWitt called 911, however, due to the intensity of the winds, she said it was hard to hear the dispatcher.

“Then the adrenaline kicked into high gear and Somehow I did it,” said DeWitt.

People Magazine says she lied down over the side of the pier, extended her arms and eventually pulled all three kids over the pier wall.

“I pulled every single one of them out over that pier wall. I don’t know how, but I did,” DeWitt told Michigan-based TV station WPBN.

By the time police officers arrived on the scene, the children had been rescued. Officials told the news outlet that all parties involved suffered minor injuries but it could have been much worse had DeWitt not stepped in when she did.

WPBN also reports that DeWitt went to the emergency room after the incident to get checked out. Doctors reportedly said that both she and her unborn child are doing ok.

Meanwhile, DeWitt credits her heroic rescue to God and says she hopes her story will “help keep your faith and love for God alive.”