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Man Learns CPR, Rescues Family Week Later at Motel Pool

The mother and her two children remained in "grave condition" after the rescue at a Hollywood motel pool

A man pulled a drowning mother and her two children out of a motel pool in Hollywood Monday and performed CPR he learned a week earlier until first responders arrived, according to authorities.

The victims, including an 11-year-old boy and 12-year-old girl, remained hospitalized Tuesday morning in "grave condition." The children were playing with two other children when they wandered into the deep end of the 7-feet-5-inch-deep pool, Los Angeles Fire Department Spokesman Peter Sanders said.

Their mother, 36, went to pull them out, but neither she nor the children can swim, Sanders said. There was no lifeguard on duty.

"Nobody in the family was a strong swimmer or had any swimming ability at all," Sanders said.

The woman and children became submerged, and a good Samaritan who heard screaming scaled a fence, jumped into the water and pulled them out, officials said. They had no pulse, so he performed CPR until LAFD personnel arrived.

Investistigators said the man used CPR training he had just learned last week.

"A CPR class definitely save lives, or help extend the chain of survival here," Sanders said. "Bystander CPR is an amazing thing. We encourage everyone to learn how to do CPR."

Paramedics found all three near-drowning victims in cardiac arrest.

"Although it is early in this investigation, it appears now that this is just a tragic accident," LAPD Sgt. Barry Montgomery said.

Los Angeles police confirmed to NBC4 Monday evening the woman was the mother of the children. The woman's two younger children had stayed in the shallow end of the pool and were found unharmed by responders, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The woman's male companion and her two uninjured children left with police.

It is unclear whether the woman, the man and the children were guests at the motel or if they were just visiting.

NBC4's Beverly White and Samia Khan contributed to this report.

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