A California college water polo star saved three girls from drowning in a Seattle lake when she noticed the youngsters struggling to keep above the surface while in deeper water.
Lillie Vehling is being hailed a hero for her quick thinking, using her past lifeguard experience to extract the distressed swimmers from Lake Washington during the city’s chaotic Seafair Weekend Festival, the largest boat, air and festival hosted between July 31 and Aug. 2.
“There were three girls who were out pretty far by the buoy lane that they had set up, and they did not look very good,” Vehling told Fox 13 Seattle.
Vehling, a rising Redshirt Junior at UC Davis, had shown up to the water’s edge on July 31 to watch the Blue Angels aerial performance when she noticed the struggling group.
“They were already bobbing up and down trying to get breaths, and one of the girls was actually drowning the others in order to breathe, and that’s when I knew I had to jump in,” she said.
Vehling recalled grabbing the girl having the most trouble and swimming her back to shallower waters to ease the hectic environment for the other two.
The Woodland Hills, Calif.-native returned and pulled the other girls one by one from the lake.
“Unfortunately, by the time I had gotten to the third girl, it was just the top of her head that was there,” Vehling said about the girl nearly fully submerged under water. “I just saw her black hair in the water barely floating and when I got to her, she was unconscious. I lifted her head up out of the water and had my arm underneath her armpit holding her up.”
Vehling said the last girl appeared unconscious and her leg was tangled in the buoy rope, which forced the student to race to get the swimmer to safety quickly.
Once back on land, the unidentified girl regained consciousness and coughed up water.
Bystanders at Genesee Park and Playfield called 911 and one of the girls was brought to Seattle Children’s Hospital in stable condition, KOMO News reported.
Vehling, whose father is a retired captain with the Los Angeles Fire Department, says her immediate instincts kicked in and she never doubted jumping in the water.
“To save three people, I didn’t think twice about myself,” she said. “I’m just glad everyone’s safe.”
Seafair CEO Emily Cantrell was told about Vehling’s daring rescue and rushed to the scene where she met with the lifesaver.
“Immediately, she [Cantrell] asked, ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘Can I give you a hug?’” Vehling told the outlet.
After the meeting, Vehling was knighted into the Seafair royal court, and given a fitting title.
“We knighted her as ‘Lady Guardian of Lake Washington,’ and she immediately had admirals coming up to her,” Cantrell told KOMO News.
“It was incredible having her at the right place at the right time. What she did was extraordinary.”
Vehling is coming off a career season with UC Davis, where she scored 30 goals, 28 assists and 15 steals during the Aggies’ 15-13 season
The attacker is studying Mechanical Engineering and Statistics with hopes of getting a career within the Nuclear Navy because of her love for the Blue Angels.
Cantrell teased that she hopes Vehling returns to Seafair as a Blue Angels pilot.
