Hotel Worker Saves Girl Struggling in Pool

A cry of distress is a universal language.

Alberto Ruiz speaks no English, but when he heard the terrified screams of a young girl from the pool room at the Brookfield Best Western Midway Hotel, where he works as a housekeeper, he didn't hestitate – he ran to help.

He found a 5-year-old girl in hysterics on the pool deck, and struggling underwater in the pool was her 13-year-old sister. A babysitter was in the room, but she seemed frozen in shock.

Ruiz, 52, also does not know how to swim – but he plunged into the pool and pulled the girl to safety.

At 1:04 p.m. July 24, police and paramedics were called to the hotel at 1005 S. Moorland Rd. on a report of a girl “drowning in the pool,” but even before they arrived, they were told the victim was out of the water and conscious.

Ruiz, after saving the child, had run to the hotel desk and managed to somehow express that she was OK.

The girl was examined and found to have no injuries, although she said she had numbness in her left arm.

"It appears she swallowed some water and then had a panic attack," said Brookfield Assistant Fire Chief David Mason.

Mason said fire crews found the girl awake and alert when they arrived, and said witnesses reported she was briefly submerged before Ruiz came to the rescue.

The girl was taken to Children's Hospital of Wisconsin in Wauwatosa for examination and observation.

Brookfield police were also on the scene but had little to do but collect information – and express admiration.

“The maintenance worker did a fantastic job," said Capt. Jim Adlam. "He didn’t think twice, he just saw a girl in distress and jumped in after her."

"I think everyone, and especially the people at Midway, should be very proud of what he did.”

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