LEE COUNTY, Fla. (WBBH) – Even though she doesn’t know how to swim, a good Samaritan in Florida rushed to rescue an 11-year-old girl with autism who fell into a lake.

Mia Garcia, 11, was collecting shells with her little sister just after 10 a.m. Saturday at Lakes Park in south Fort Myers. She slipped into the lake and couldn’t get out on her own.

“I felt like an alligator was going to come swim to me and drag me under the water,” said Mia, describing the terrifying moments she experienced.

Mia’s grandmother, Dawn Louchart, says the 11-year-old, who has autism, knows how to swim but struggled to get out of the water because the area was slimy.

“We taught her at a young age to scream, and she started screaming for us that she needed help, that she couldn’t get out,” Louchart said.

Bridgett Addison, who was at a nearby pavilion, heard Mia’s screams and immediately ran to help, despite not knowing how to swim.

“When I looked over, I saw her in the water. So, I just ran,” Addison said. “I was able to get her and sling her up, so she won’t be where the slimy part at to get her out of the embankment.”

Addison says she kept falling down while helping Mia and got skinned up in the process. Despite the difficulties, she expressed her willingness to help anyone in need.

“I don’t care who they are, what color, what their disability. I don’t care. If you can do it, go and help somebody. That’s my only thing,” she said.

Louchart says she’s grateful for Addison’s actions.

“It shows a lot that there are good people out there, and she is one of them,” she said.

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