Nearly $100,000 raised to help parents of young sisters who drowned in pond in Holtsville
HOLTSVILLE, Long Island (WABC) -- A community on Long Island is offering support for the parents of two young sisters who tragically drowned in a pond outside their home over the weekend.
Neighbors say they were a loving family, and the toddlers were always with their mother.
That mother is now living with every parent's worst nightmare.
Sisters, 4-year-old Ruth Gali and 2-year-old Selah Gali, lost their lives Saturday after drowning in a pond near their home at the Fairfield townhouses in Holtsville.
"It's the most horrible thing I've ever encountered," said neighbor Justin Finnerty.
"The little girl was right there, and the other one was on the concrete up there," said neighbor Bella Baldi.
Neighbors say a maintenance worker found the girls in the water after their mother, who neighbors say fell asleep, had reported them missing.
"I saw the mother outside. I had my kitchen window open. She was calling for her children," said neighbor Marge Baldi.
"I didn't go in the water, I stayed up here, trying to help the little girl," Bella Baldi said.
Fourteen-year-old Bella Baldi desperately tried to give 2-year-old Selah CPR.
"I was trying to tell people what to do to walk them through, but everybody was so frightened and scared so I started to do CPR a little bit and I checked the little girl's pulse and I didn't feel any," she said.
She says EMS quickly arrived and took over.
Both Selah and her big sister Ruth were rushed to Stony Brook University Hospital, but it was too late.
On Monday, their family revisiting the spot.
Ruth was just starting kindergarten.
"I saw them at the bus stop right here," Marge Baldi said. "I watched all the kids leave the other day and it just makes it all more tragic."
It's a gut-wrenching loss for their mother, who lost all of her children in the blink of an eye.
"It's sad, like re-picturing it," Bella Baldi said.
"I can't imagine anything worse than that. My heart breaks for them," Marge Baldi said.
The family's church has set up a GoFundMe page.
In just one day, the page has raised over $100,000.
Both girls would have been celebrating their birthdays in the coming weeks.
----------
* Download the abc7NY app for breaking news alerts
Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News
Have a breaking news tip or an idea for a story we should cover? Send it to Eyewitness News using the form below. If attaching a video or photo, terms of use apply.
