"I popped up, swam over to the girl and lifted her out of the water," Bauer said. "Her mouth was open, her eyes were semi open. And then I raised my shoulder very high and aggressively patted her on her back. Within seconds she spit up a bunch of water and started coughing.
A nearby boat picked up the child and Bauer to take them to shore, where emergency responders met them.
Watching her father leap from the bridge scared Ava, she said. She worried her father would land head first in the Assawoman Bay and hurt himself, or even worse. He landed feet first.