Mother Dies After Saving 4-Year-Old From Florida River, Rescuers Say

Nicole Grayson, 43, perished Saturday evening after expending her final reserves of strength to maintain her 4-year-old son above the surface of the St. Johns River at Ed Stone Park west of DeLand, according to the Volusia Sheriff’s Office and family members. The boy survived the incident unharmed after witnesses and a passing boater intervened, but Grayson died in the intensive care unit around 10 p.m. that night despite emergency resuscitation efforts.

The child had fallen into the river around 4 p.m. while attempting to retrieve an object he had dropped near a wooden fence along the water’s edge, investigators determined. Grayson immediately entered the water to rescue her son, but as she fought to keep him above the surface, she gradually became submerged herself.

A park witness flagged down a nearby boater, who threw life preservers toward mother and child. The boater managed to reach the youngster and pull him aboard safely, while witness Jon Reaka jumped into the vessel and assisted in retrieving Grayson from the water, immediately beginning CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Grayson arrived at a hospital unresponsive, where medical teams continued revival attempts for several hours before her death. Sheriff Mike Chitwood honored Grayson’s memory as emblematic of her lifelong dedication to protecting her six children, calling her a hero both for her final act and for the fierce protective nature she embodied throughout her life.