The South end of Hopkins Village is a hot spot for children who enjoy fishing. Between fishing, swimming and games such as chase and hide and seek, some of the children’s most wonderful memories will be at that location. Unfortunately, what happened Sunday, July 4, is an event residents would like to forget.
On Sunday, 5 children were fishing in the area when a swarm of bees attacked. According to eyewitnesses, the attack was furious. Luckily for two of
the children they escaped into the water with only a couple stings. The other three were not so lucky. They were the subject of the bees’ fury and received numerous stings. One little girl, Rebecca, was overwhelmed by the bees and was unable to escape. The stings wore her down and she was unable to continue running. Fortunately, Kevin Casimero, who had jumped in the water, came back and carried her all the way to the side of the road where they were assisted by a man in the area and taken to the clinic. One eyewitness said that Rebecca was vomiting because of an allergic reaction she had to the stings. Rebecca and two other girls were treated at the hospital and released.
If it were not for Kevin, Rebecca would have lost her life. It is important for us to know basic tips that will save us in the event of a bee attack. These are a few of them:
One is to run as fast as you can and as far away from the spot where the attack began as possible. Two is to cover your head and face as you run because aggressive bees might get inside your mouth, ears and nostrils if they are not covered. Three is to get inside a building or vehicle if possible in an effort to lock out as much of them as possible. Four, as soon as you are safe from continued attacks start to remove the stingers because the sooner they are out the less venom they can pump into your body. Five is to try and stay calm so that your thoughts may flow easier and six is to call 911 as soon as possible because in certain cases treatment is necessary to combat the venom.
One act that is not recommended is to jump into a body of water. The bee swarm will still be in the area waiting for you to resurface. Agitated bees will stay roaming the area for hours. Fortunately, in the Hopkins incident the bees turned their attention away from the boys who jumped in the water. This allowed Kevin to resurface and save Rebecca’s life.
