10-year-old Pellican Narrows boy saves toddler from ditch full of water

A Pelican Narrows boy is being hailed a hero after risking his safety to save a three-year-old from drowning last week.

Harvey Dorian was walking to his brother’s house on April 27 at roughly 5 p.m., when he noticed a three-year-old in a ditch full of water.

The three-year-old boy had been playing in a toy truck and accidentally drove himself into the ditch.

“He was in that little car thing, and he went into the ditch and that little car thing went upside down and he was drowning and I had to go save him. (The water) was, like, up to my eyes,” Dorian said, describing the incident.

Dorian said he didn’t think too much during the incident, instead letting instinct take over.

“My heart was pounding and I was getting scared … I could’ve got a heart attack but I just grabbed him and saved him (from) that water,” he said.

His mother, Mary Jane Michel, was happy her son acted when he did.

“I’m really proud of him. I put it on my Facebook and I’m just proud of him. You hear a lot of negativity about First Nations communities and I think this is a very good story,” she said.

Michel said the incident happened just outside of her house and she only found out about it when her son was lauded on social media.

The ditch has now been drained for safety purposes.

–with files from Spencer Sterritt