Rescue earns keys to Ephrata

Teenagers respond to fallen toddler

EPHRATA - Two teenagers were awarded the first ever keys to the city of Ephrata for coming to the rescue of a toddler.

The two were presented the award Sept. 5 during a council meeting.

Alex Youngberg, 15, Ephrata, and Katelyn McDonnell, 18, Ephrata, were about to head home after a July 11 swim meet in Wenatchee. Before the teenagers made it to their vehicles, a 3-year-old boy fell from a 12-foot slide.

Youngberg was the first to notice.

She rushed to the boy to see if he was injured.

"I couldn't tell if he landed on his head," Youngberg said. "I ran over to him and he was crying."

She stabilized his head to prevent further injuries and had someone call 9-1-1.

McDonnell saw Youngberg leaning over the boy's body and came to assist.

"I could tell because of the way she was holding him that he must have fallen and she was stabilizing his head," McDonnell said.

She alleviated Youngberg and took over stabilizing the toddler's head.

"We started asking him more questions and we realized that he couldn't speak English," McDonnell said.

They located someone to translate English to Spanish and continued to ask questions to keep the toddler alert and to divert his attention.

The parents were eventually located and the teenagers worked with the translator to ask the parents questions about his health, Youngberg said.

Once an ambulance arrived they helped get the toddler onto a backboard to get him into the ambulance, McDonnell said.

"I actually haven't heard about him since," she said.

Neither of the teenagers thought they would be putting their lifeguard and CPR training to use for such an incident.

"It was really cool to use that skill somewhere else and know that it's not just going to help me at a job to make money," Youngberg said. "Its so crazy to think that actually happened."

They didn't expect the city of Ephrata to reward them for their efforts either.

"It was really cool, I was really excited," Youngberg said.

"They ended up giving us that huge award that I did not expect and I was surprised that I almost got a little choked up just because I wasn't prepared for it. It was really nice," McDonnell said. "I'm very honored."

The award begins a new tradition for Ephrata.

The symbolic key to the city dates back to the seventh century when cities were surrounded by gated walls, Mayor Chris Jacobson said.

"Individuals of great renown and high public trust were awarded with a symbolic key allowing them freedom of the town," he said during the council meeting.

"Holders of the key to the city enjoyed an extraordinary relationship with the community and were accorded lifelong rights and privileges."

Jacobson said Youngberg and McDonnell were awarded the keys for their heroism, professional actions and for advancing the greater good of the community.

McDonnell said there were other participants from the swim team who have the same training credentials as she does.

"If any of them would have walked out at the same time as me they would have done the exact same thing," she said.