VIDEO – Off-Duty Cop Saves Mother of Eight from Drowning: ‘It’s A Miracle’

A mother and her children found themselves in extreme danger on a reservoir in Herriman, Utah, this week but were saved in the nick of time.

Danielle Bradshaw was enjoying time with six of her eight children and had the two youngest floating on a raft, KSL TV reported Friday.

However, once they ventured into deeper water, she “readjusted on the tube,” and it suddenly capsized. Her girls panicked because they were not wearing life jackets and had been waiting for her husband to bring them.

Officials recommend people wear life jackets whenever they are near, on, or in a body of water.

Bradshaw’s five-year-old became stuck underneath the tube, but Bradshaw eventually got her out. Moments later, the device blew away from them as they struggled.

“I remember holding my breath while being pushed under the water. I was trying to keep my girls up and moving forward, but I wasn’t strong enough. My body needed air, so involuntarily I inhaled while I was under the water,” she explained.

Bradshaw, who has a paralyzed vocal cord that made her voice fairly weak, explained how frightened she felt, “but someone did hear me calling for help. It’s a miracle.”

An off-duty officer who was with his own family heard their pleas and immediately took action. He and Bradshaw’s teenage son brought her to safety, and the officer performed CPR until the woman started breathing once more.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure done when a person’s heart stops beating and “[i]mmediate CPR can double or triple chances of survival after cardiac arrest,” according to the American Heart Association.

Bradshaw was treated at a hospital, but the children did not require medical attention. Following the rescue, the grateful family did not get a chance to meet the officer because emergency crews quickly took control of the situation.