Yorkville boys receive valor awards for saving friend from pool

The Yorkville City Hall was packed with community members on Aug. 27 to see the Yorkville Police Department present two local boys with Valor and Lifesaving Awards for saving their friend from drowning at a pool party.

“Thank you to both of these heroes for saving him. You’re both the reason he’s here today,” Yorkville Deputy Chief Ray Mikolasek saidwhile presenting the awards to 12-year-olds Gavin Faitz and Daniel Torres.

Mikolasek told the City Hall crowd that after the Yorkville police watched a home camera system video capturing the incident, they decided to present Faitz and Torres the same awards they would bestow upon their full-time officers for commendable actions in the line of duty. While bestowing the awards, Mikolasek described the video of the near-tragic event at a July 27 pool party.

During the incident, 12-year-old Kaden Luangvila became submerged underwater in the pool’s deep end, unable to reach the safety of the pool ladder. Faitz was the first to notice, and after failing to get the attention of any adults, dove to the bottom of the pool, hauling the unconscious Luangvila to the surface. Once Faitz swam Luangvila over to the pool’s edge, Torres rushed over to his friend’s aid, lifting Luangvila out of the water and onto the deck.

Once out of the water, Torres performed chest compressions on Luangvila, in an attempt to remove water from Luangvila and help Luangvila regain consciousness. At this point, parents were able to intervene and continue CPR until the paramedics arrived. Through the intervention of all those involved, Luangvila was able to make a full recovery.

At the meeting, all three of the boys stood with their parents as those in attendance applauded their actions.

While presenting the awards, Mikolasek remarked that Faitz’s and Torres’s actions saved the life of their friend.

Following the awards presentation, Mikolasek said in an interview he was astounded by the maturity and bravery both Faitz and Torres displayed at such a young age.

“The video is incredible to watch,” he said. “It’s tremendous to see kids take care of each other like this under these circumstances. As a police department, we should always recognize the bravery of our residents. I can’t think of more deserving people.”