Jason McHugh, the owner and chef of Desert Rose in Media, decided to close his restaurant on Sundays to spend more time with his family.

So what did he do on Father’s Day? McHugh saved a life, writes Susan Serbin for the Daily Times.

McHugh, his wife, and their boys joined friends at his sister’s home in Middletown.

“We’d probably been there about 15 or 20 minutes when I saw this little girl go in,” said McHugh. “She seemed to be after a ball by the edge of the pool and just fell. I jumped in and saw a white diaper, grabbed it, and pulled her out. The next thing I remember is handing her to the mom. It all couldn’t have taken more than a minute.”

The 14-month-old toddler appeared to not have any ill-effects and was laughing and smiling shortly after.

McHugh’s action wasn’t accidental. His family bought a home with a pool just over a year ago.

“When we moved in, my mom strongly stressed safety around the pool,” he said. “Those safety practices became second nature to us. I’m hypersensitive about it now, with my two kids.”

Read more about Chef Jason McHugh in the Daily Times here.

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