6-year-old on life support after saving girl from pool

CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. -- Six-year-old Donald Hauser-Richerme knew enough to stay away from deep water since he couldn't swim. But he also knew the little girl struggling in the murky, debris-filled swimming pool was in trouble.

What he did next saved Karah Moran's life, but it left Donnie on life support and in critical condition Wednesday.

Karah, 5, calls her young friend "my hero."

"I can't say enough about this little guy," said Chicago Ridge police chief Tim Baldermann. "It's amazing that this little kid, old enough to understand it's a dangerous situation, was so brave, without thinking about himself he instinctively jumped in to help his friend."

As they recounted what happened at the apartment complex pool on Monday, the chief, the little girl and others told a story that begins with children doing what children do: explore.

They were playing in the parking lot at Woodland Terrace, Donnie, his 4-year-old brother, Andy, and Karah.

The boys had just moved in a few weeks earlier, said Donnie's stepfather, Michael Cartolano.

Karah was visiting her grandmother, who lives in another apartment. She knew her way around, and she knew that behind the last building in the complex was an empty swimming pool.

"She wanted to show the pool," said Karah's aunt, Bernadette Choate. "She didn't expect the gate to be unlocked."

But it was. A maintenance worker had been sent out to the pool that day to do some work, Baldermann said. Faced with a locked gate and no key, the worker cut the lock to get in.

Karah either climbed or fell into the shallow end of the pool, where there was no water. But the bottom was slick with dead leaves and algae, and Karah slid toward five feet of blackened rain water and muck at the bottom of the deep end.

Donnie jumped into the shallow end and reached toward his new friend to try to pull her to safety.

The girl's family said they were told the boy knew he couldn't swim.

"He said, 'Karah, don't pull me in,"' said Vickie Choate, the girl's grandmother.

But Karah weighs about 10 pounds more than Donnie, and between the weight and the slick surface, the boy slipped and both ended up in the water.

Karah's mother, Melany Moran, said her daughter told her that as the two were struggling in the water, Donnie "swung her with his hand, and she grabbed a ladder."

Karah got out, and she and Andy ran for help. As somebody called 911, adults hurried to the pool area, but the water was so filthy, so filled with debris including a plastic garbage can, that they couldn't see the boy.

When paramedics arrived, they jumped into the water and found the boy. But by then, Donnie had been under water anywhere from five to 20 minutes, Baldermann said.

On Wednesday, Karah Moran recalled that when she got home, a little boy down the street called her "murderer, murderer."

"Last night she had a nightmare," Melany Moran said. "She was screaming, 'Help me, help me."