Erlanger boy living with autism saves friend from drowning

ERLANGER, Ky. - An Erlanger boy with autism is being called a little hero by his parents for saving another boy's life, after a 4-year-old nearly drowned.

Connor Musk has Aspergers, which is a form of autism, but that didn't keep him from jumping in a neighborhood pool in Newport to save a 4-year-old boy from drowning last month.

The 4-year-old was standing by the pool and jumped in. He wasn't wearing a life jacket and went straight to the bottom. Conner saw what happened, jumped in, grabbed him by the arm and pulled him up.

9 News asked Conner how he felt about saving the boy. Conner said that it made him feel good and that he wasn't scared to jump in the water.

His parents were shocked an amazed when they found out what happened.

"He has a problem communicating, he doesn't like to make eye contact," Michael Musk, Conner's father said. "Usually with Aspergers, children like to freeze when they get into mass situations like that, they don't know what to do, he actually didn't freeze, which we're lucky for that case."

With the young boy in his arms, Conner went to the ladder and yelled for help. It was something he learned from watching his father at work.

"When I asked him how he learned it, he said he learned it from watching us, because I just recently became a public safety diver, and he came to a couple of our pool sessions and was watching how we did things," his father explained.

The 4-year-old has recovered and is doing fine at this time. His family says they were thankful for what Conner did.

Authorities say for parents to always watch their children by water. A situation like this one may not always turn out this positive.