The boy's inflatable duck flipped over and he had to be rescued from the water.
A toddler was rescued from Lake Michigan after drifting away from his family on a giant duck float.
The boy was in the water with his mom and another young child at Washington Park in Michigan City, Indiana, on Monday afternoon.
David Benjamin, a water safety instructor who happened to be at the beach with his own family, said one of the boys jumped or fell off the float and the mother reached for him.
"When she turned back around, she let go of the duck, and it started to drift lightly in the wind," he said.
Benjamin ran to get a paddleboard.
“As I’m paddling out, I’m looking and he’s really far out,” he told Inside Edition. “I’d say about 150 yards from the shore.”
The toddler was panicking. “He was grabbing the head of the duck, I can see he's full crying mode, stomping his feet. He was terrified,” Benjamin said.
The float then flipped over, dumping the little boy in the water. As Benjamin frantically paddled toward him, a boat came along and plucked the boy from the water. Thankfully, he was fine.
Other incidents show the potential dangers of the floats.
Last August, four women were stranded on a large unicorn float on a Minnesota lake and had to be rescued by local deputies who happened to be driving by. In June, another child on a unicorn float was swept out to sea off the coast of North Carolina, leading his mom to call 911.
“These inflatable toys can be very dangerous,” Benjamin warned. "They can float far and fast."
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