Teenage girls help in water rescue, save man’s life
MAYFIELD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- With summer in full swing, water safety is a top priority around Capital Region lakes and waterways. A team of heroes saved a man’s life after his jet ski overturned on the Great Sacandaga Lake.
“I didn't see anyone, so I was really nervous for someone's life,” said Hanna Quant.
Sisters Hanna and Layla were out on their jet skis Sunday afternoon before the strong storms blew through the area. They were headed back to shore when they spotted something in the water.
“I saw this thing. I thought it was a tube at first. So, I started going over to it and I was like, oh. It's a sunken Sea-Doo. I went over to it, was checking to see if the key was in it. The key was in it, so I was just really worried about everything,” said Hanna.
It's what happened next that makes these teenage girls heroes. “My sister called my mom and she, my mom, called Pluchino’s Marina,” said the young hero.
Once the folks at the marina got the call, they quickly headed out to find the jet ski and the girls. “That's when we told the girls get back home. Because the weather was getting pretty nasty,” said Chris Pluchino, the owner of Pluchino’s Marina.
What they found next, was even more alarming. “Chris caught a glimpse of the guy's life jacket on the island over there. So we didn't know what it was over there and rode over there. As we got closer, I could hear something. Which was him blowing his whistle, and we pulled him on the boat, and we brought him and his ski back,” said Justin Kozachuk who works at marina and helped saved the stranded man.
“He was actually on one of these small, submerged Islands out here when we got to him, we pulled him up onto the boat. He said that he was trying to, he was mentally preparing to spend the entire night out on the water and he didn't know how to do that,” said Pluchino.
The man they rescued remains anonymous. “He was visibly shaken. He was soaking wet with one water shoe on, the other water shoe in the lake somewhere. [He] Just really wasn't able to talk too much. I offered him a hot cup of coffee, something to drink, he just kept shaking his head. We don't even know his name or where he's from. We just want him to get home to his family safely so he went on his way. But he was definitely out of sorts,” said Kelly Pluchino.
The girls were awarded life vests and other water safety gear for their quick actions. Theresa DaBiere-Craig with GSL Safe Lake Initiative offered a few reminders while on the water. “The key word is life, right? They save lives and they’ve now become very fashionable. So, we're really recommending that everybody on the water wear them. You should always have your whistle attached to your life vest because it's really required that you have an audible device, as well. They have traditionally been all one size and it's really important to have the size that fits you well. Make sure that it fits and adjust the straps. You should inspect your life vest every year to make sure everything is working, the snaps, the buckles and we want to make sure that this [life vest] is not going to slip up,” said DaBiere-Craig.
All boaters in New York will be required to take a Safe Boating Course after January 2025.