Vilano Beach couple who helped rescue woman in rough surf speak out

7/12/18 Thursday Update: The mother of Kristen Winningham tells Action News Jax, the woman pulled from the water at Vilano Beach over the weekend has died.

Winningham was a mother of three young children. Friends say she was rescuing one of her friend's 8-year-old sons in the water when she started having issues.

A husband and wife worked together to rescue a local mother of three from the rough surf on Vilano Beach.

“It was really rough. It was rough to the point where we weren’t going past ankle deep,” said Kevin Gentilozzi.

But that quickly changed.

“He said, 'Oh my God -- I think there’s a body over there,'” said Michelle Gentilozzi.

She and her husband suddenly became makeshift lifeguards on Monday, wasting no time as they saw a drowning woman, Kristen Winningham, 32.

“Just get her to the shore as fast as possible,” he said.

Michelle, a registered nurse, quickly switched into work mode.

“I ran over and started performing CPR as soon as he pulled her out. Oh my gosh I’ve got to fight hard and get this woman back, she has babies, she has children,” she said.

And Michelle did fight for at least 10 minutes until paramedics got there.

Deputies said Winningham was at the beach with her three children, a 4-year-old, a 6-year-old, and an 11-year-old.

Her boyfriend said she loves the beach and is there a lot, but it’s still unclear exactly what happened.

Friends of Kristen said she was rescuing one of her friend's 8-year-old sons in the water when she started having issues.

The boy is now fine and his mother said Kristen is a hero.

At last check, Winningham was still listed in critical condition.

Cox Media Group