North Myrtle Beach officer rescues women, drowning child from submerged golf cart
A North Myrtle Beach Police officer rescued three women and a young child from their golf cart that was submerged in a body of water.
On Sept. 27, 2025, Sgt. Christopher Bellamy noticed an overturned golf cart in the waterway behind a residence at 406 33rd Ave. N. while conducting a routine patrol in the Cherry Grove Beach neighborhood, the police department shared on Facebook Wednesday. He heard screams coming from the back of the house, according to the police department’s post, and discovered a “chaotic scene.”
“It was truly God just took me to the right place at the right time,” Bellamy told The Sun News on Wednesday.
The golf cart was submerged on its side in about 3 feet of water, with three older females still buckled in, and bystanders attempting to extract them. Bellamy called for backup and entered the water to take charge of the situation, according to the police department.
As he began to help the three women out of the cart, Bellamy said he heard one of them call out for her 4-year-old grandson. He asked her where the boy was.
“When she said ‘under me,’ my heart sank,” Bellamy said.
Bellamy used his pocketknife to cut the woman free and access the child. When he tried to pull the boy out by his arm, he realized he was still strapped in.
He used his pocketknife again to cut the boy free, pulling his “lifeless body” out of the water, according to the police department.
“At first, I thought it was too late,” Bellamy said.
Bellamy immediately laid the boy on the ground and began chest compressions, encouraging him to breathe alongside the boy’s mother, the police department wrote. After about 20 seconds of chest compressions, the boy “vomited water and began to have sporadic agonal breathing,” according to the police department.
Bellamy continued chest compressions and encouraged the boy to breathe. After a minute and a half, the boy woke up and began breathing on his own, continuing to cough up water.
The child was then taken to the hospital, where he made a full recovery, according to the police department.
“If it were not for Sergeant Bellamy’s keen awareness and quick actions, he would not have survived, as he was submerged underwater for approximately four minutes before Sergeant Bellamy freed him from the wreckage,” the department wrote. “Sergeant Bellamy’s calm leadership and steadfast actions most assuredly saved a precious life.”
Bellamy attributed his response to a combination of training, instinct, and being in the right place at the right time. In fact, he and his team had just completed their “CPR refresher” about two weeks before the incident. He has been in contact with the boy and his family since the incident, and said they are doing well.
Bellamy noted that in a coastal community, the police see numerous drownings, but it feels different when it involves a kid — especially because he has three of his own. He said he was glad this incident had a happy ending.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 1:06 PM.
