A weekend trip to St. Pete beach ended up being a life or death struggle for a family.
A Lakeland mother is in critical condition after she and several children got caught up in a strong current.
Steven Calafato took pictures as St. Pete Beach Fire-rescue pulled people from the waters off the tip of Pass-A-Grille.
“Younger brother is maybe 8 or 9. They’re bringing him out of the water, he’s just slumped over like a rag doll” said Calafato.
Paramedics performed chest compressions on that child and treated others on the beach.
Before paramedics arrived, bystanders noticed the family in trouble.
“He looked up and he told me, he says oh my god, Laura there’s some children drowning out there,” said Laura Grande.
Laura and Richard Grande jumped in to help.
“And we were yelling out to turn around and float on your backs and let the current take you in. Cuz I was going to try to follow them along the inlet,” Laura said, adding that she hoped she would be able to grab people as they floated next to the jetty.
Like a rip current, safety experts will tell you not to fight a current. Signs warn of the dangerous current in the area.
“I got one of the kids out that was pinned against a rock and the other one was, the other four were floating away,” said Richard Grande.
Witnesses said the current also trapped the children’s mother. She was eventually pulled out of the water unresponsive.
An ambulance took her to Bayfront Health in St. Petersburg.
“Hard to see, of course it’s hard to see. You don’t want to see anyone like that,” said Calafato.
The Grandes stayed with the children until someone came to pick them up.
“They were very grateful, hugging us and crying on us for the past 3 hours,” said Richard Grande.