Neighbors jumped into action after they spotted a boy on the autism spectrum heading toward a retention pond in Port St. Lucie. Good Samaritan Melinda Dryer said it was her intuition that told her something wasn’t right, Saturday morning. Dryer said she was driving with her sister when she s aid she saw a 5-year-old boy crossing the road. “When he walked in front of the car, he just gave us like a blank stare, and something in my gut just didn’t feel right,” said Dryer. Her gut feeling may have prevented a tragedy as, police said, the autistic child wandered away from his home and entered the retention pond. “Things could have went really wrong, I mean, it doesn’t take much water for a child to drown, especially one that may not know how to swim,” said Dryer. “I knew, if he was possibly autistic, that that water wasn’t going to be in a good situation.” In fear of the worst, Dryer and her sister got out of their car as others joined them. “Everything happened so fast; it was scary, it was scary,” said Dryer. After 10 minutes, they were able to guide the boy out of the water and into safety. “He’s autistic and nonverbal. We just found him over there by the water,” said an officer on body camera video. When police arrived to the scene, the child was covered in fire ants, but officers said that overall he was physically unhurt. Alissa Magrum is the executive director of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance. “We know that individuals with autism are 160 times more likely than their neurotypical peers to drown,” said Magrum. She said children with autism are often drawn to water, which presents its own dangers. “We do a lot of education around this specific population to try to help parents and caregivers learn what they can do to prevent these drownings or almost situations from happening,” said Magrum. Those good Samaritans are thankful the boy is OK. “I’m just grateful that he’s with his family. I can’t imagine that burden as a parent to go through anything like that,” said Dryer. Police have reminded the public that if they find themselves in a similar situation, to do just like the Dryer did and follow their instincts. ...read more read less