BARNSTABLE, MASS. (WHDH) - Three New York teenagers rescued a 15-year-old drowning youth on Cape Cod Wednesday, officials said.
Firefighters responding to reports of a person who had jumped from Craigville Bridge into the water in Centerville at 2:30 p.m. found a 15-year-old had lost consciousness after jumping off the bridge, officials said. Two teenagers from Red Hook, New York, who were fishing on the bridge, jumped in after him and pulled him to safety while another teenager assisted from the bridge.
According to the three rescuees, the 15-year-old was pushed in by a friend. While onlookers watched and laughed as the boy yelled he couldn’t swim, the three New York teens sprang into action.
“I thought he was joking at first because he wasn’t screaming for help or anything, and once he went under the water and didn’t come back up that I knew he was drowning,” said Will Anagnos.
After the drowning boy was pulled from the water, the boys stayed with him as they waited for medical assistance to arrive.
“Their friends didn’t really help at all,” said Colby Benassuti. “They didn’t want anything to do with it. They were kinda just laughing, recording him.”
According to fire officials, the quick thinking of the three teens likely saved a life.
“These are incredible young heroes,” said Lieutenant Zachary Hunter of the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Fire Department. “We’re lucky to have them on vacation here.”
Gidget Anagnos, Will’s, simply reflect what they’ve been taught.
“I’m just glad everything happened the way it did, and I’m really proud of these kids,” she said.
As of Thursday night, the boy remained hospitalized.
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