BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. — A quick response from first responders and a bystander saved the life of a 7-year-old who fell into icy water while walking his bike across a lock, WSYR reported.
The second-grader slipped into the freezing canal but was pulled to safety after a coordinated rescue effort captured on police body camera footage, according to the report. The video shows officers rushing to the scene and offering reassurance to the child.
“Hey, buddy, we’re coming for you, okay? Just stay right there,” an officer is heard telling the boy as he struggled to stay afloat.
With the help of the rescue team, one member was lowered to reach the child.
Bystander Ed Rohmer had seen the boy fall and immediately called for help, according to the report. In a quick-thinking move, he lowered the bike into the lock so the boy could grab onto a tire until rescuers arrived.
“It’s kind of unconventional tactics, but time was of the essence with the water temperatures,” Baldwinsville’s Northwest District Station Chief Tony McIntyre told WSYR, noting the serious risk of hypothermia.
Thanks to the efforts of Rohmer and emergency personnel, the boy was pulled from the water cold and shaking but alive.
“The fact that the bystander witnessed and heard him in the water, he was only in for a short amount of time, and if that did not happen, there would be a very, very different outcome,” McIntyre said.
