VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Marc Swartz didn’t plan to be on the water Saturday. His arm had been in recovery since surgery in May, and his pontoon boat had been sitting untouched at the marina for months.
But something moved him to take it out — and that decision may have helped save a little boy’s life.
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“I don’t know, you know, if it’s a higher power or something like that. But for some strange reason, I decided to go out and run my boat,” Swartz told News 6. “Out of the blue.”
Swartz spoke to News 6 for the first time Tuesday about what he witnessed and did on the St. Johns River in DeLand — and about the mother he says is the real hero of the story.
“There was nobody there to help them”
According to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, a 4-year-old boy fell into the St. Johns River on July 18 after leaning over a knee-high wooden fence while trying to retrieve an object that had gone over the edge. His mother, Nicole Grayson, 43, jumped in after him without hesitation.
Swartz was returning from a ride when a woman onshore began screaming and flagging him down.
“Thank God it’s a no wake zone, because then you can hear,” he said. “And I heard that woman screaming, ‘there’s a baby in the water.’ And there was nobody there to help them.”
Swartz estimated he was about 50 yards out — in the middle of the river — when he spotted the pair struggling in the water.
“I was still in the middle of the river when I realized they were in the water,” he said. “Unfortunately, if I was closer, I might have had a different outcome, but I was able to get turned around and get over to them immediately.”
Throwing life preservers, grabbing a boy
Getting close without hitting them wasn’t easy. Swartz said he had to maneuver carefully, backing up several times to position the boat.
“First thing I did was grab a couple of life preservers and throw them in to him,” he said. “By this time, you know, she was under and he was in a panic.”
Deputies say Grayson became submerged as she struggled to keep the 4-year-old above the water. Swartz maneuvered close enough to grab the boy’s arm and pull him onto the boat.
Then he turned to Grayson.
“There’s no way with this arm” Swartz said, referencing his limited use of his right arm following surgery.
A team comes together
Swartz wasn’t alone for long. According to the sheriff’s report, a 38-year-old man was riding nearby in a golf cart when he heard the screams. He jumped into the water, swam to the boat, and helped pull Grayson aboard before immediately beginning CPR. Another 26-year-old man also entered the water to help.
“Then another guy jumped over the rail. He got on the boat, and another guy pulled up behind us and got on the boat, and the three of us were able to pull, pull the lady onto the boat and they started CPR and they tag team CPR for, I don’t know, it seemed like 10 or 15 minutes until EMS got there,” Swartz said.
Swartz also credited the woman onshore who first sounded the alarm. Without her, he said, none of it would have been possible.
“There was a lady up on top who’s the lady that called 911 and stuff, you know, she was doing all the hollering and stuff or I would never heard it,” Swartz said.
Swartz used a hook to hold the boat against the shore while EMS worked on Grayson. The vessel was then steered to a nearby boat ramp, where a gurney was already waiting.
‘She’s the hero’
Despite everyone’s efforts, Grayson was pronounced dead at approximately 10:05 p.m. at AdventHealth DeLand. Her son was unharmed, according to the sheriff’s office.
Grayson’s oldest child, Montraevia Adams, confirmed her mother raised six children. In a statement posted to a GoFundMe fundraiser for funeral expenses, Adams described her mother as someone whose love was unconditional.
“She was an incredible mother who raised six children,” Adams wrote. “She loved each of us unconditionally and would do anything for her kids. We were truly blessed to have a mother who was caring, supportive, selfless, and always willing to sacrifice her time to make sure we had what we needed.”
Swartz — a father of five — said people keep telling him what a great thing he did. But he pushes back on that every time.
“Everybody’s like, ‘Oh, that’s great. You know, you saved a little boy or whatever and pulled him out or whatever.’ Man, this this is really heart wrenching,” he said. “A mother of six kids, you know, is now gone.”
“She’s the hero,” Swartz said.
“My hat’s off to her for, you know, saving her child,” he added.
Swartz said he keeps coming back to how fast it all happened — and how differently it could have gone.
“Life can change in an instant. You never know,” he said. “You take your family to the park, which I’ve done many a times. Something bad can happen in a heartbeat.”