'Flip, Float and Follow': What to do if you may be about to drown

CHICAGO - The Centers for Disease Control calls drowning one of the leading causes of accidental death in the nation. It happens in a moment of panic and not everyone survives to discuss it.

Dave Benjamin started the "Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project" -- tracking drowning deaths on the Great Lakes -- after he nearly became a statistic himself.

Benjamin said 2018 was the deadliest for drownings since he began tracking them in 2010, and the southern portion of Lake Michigan was the deadliest.

“Everyone knows stop, drop and roll. Everyone knows call 911 if there's an emergency. But if you get in trouble and there's water over your head, no one knows what to do,” Benjamin said.

His advice to anyone struggling was to “flip, float and follow.”

“Flip over on your back and float, float to keep your head over water, float to calm yourself down from that panic of drowning,” said Benjamin.

The Red Cross offers CPR classes for a fee. You can click here to find out more.