The 10-year-old girl who pulled her sister to safety during an incident at an apartment pool was recognized as a “DeKalb County hero.”
Surveillance video showed Jayla Dallis pulling her three-year-old sister to safety after she fell face down into the pool on May 15. Jayla performed CPR until a Chamblee police officer arrived.
She said Tuesday that she learned what to do by watching movies and YouTube videos. Kali Dallis made a full recovery, but during the two weeks she was hospitalized Jayla missed her school’s end-of-year awards program.
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Huntley Hills Elementary School teamed up with the DeKalb County commission to honor her at a meeting today. Jayla received her A/B Honor Roll certificate and medallion, as well as a proclamation naming June 11 as Jayla Dallis Day in DeKalb County.
Daneshia Dallis, the girls’ mother, said she was grateful that Kali has no permanent injuries and that Jayla was quick-thinking.
“I’m glad to know she listens to me and protected her little sister,” she said.
DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond praised Jayla for her “selfless act of heroism” and asked her what she wants to be when she grows up.
A police officer, she said.
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