Teen Saves Boy From Frozen NYC Pond With Quick Thinking

When Alex Smith saw a child break through the ice at Springfield Park in Queens, the 14-year-old didn't hesitate. He grabbed a nearby safety ladder and slid it across the frozen pond to the boy, whose head was barely above water.

"I was like 'oh my God, oh my God, I need to go help him,'" Smith said. "I didn't even call the police or nothing, I just instantly ran to help him."

The ladder gave the terrified child something to hold onto in the freezing water. Meanwhile, other children ran to alert firefighters at a nearby firehouse in Springfield Gardens.

FDNY Engine 311 and Ladder 158 arrived quickly on foot. Probationary firefighter Shaun McMahon suited up in cold-water gear and ventured onto the ice, but the rescue became even more dangerous when the ice gave way beneath him too.

"About halfway out onto the ice, the ice gave way, and I went into the water," McMahon said. Despite plunging into the freezing pond himself, he stayed focused on reaching the child.

"It was definitely cold, but all I really had thoughts of was getting to this kid, because regardless if I was cold or not, he was even colder," McMahon explained.

With help from about a dozen firefighters and a safety rope, McMahon reached the boy and both were pulled safely back to shore. The child had spent roughly ten minutes in the icy water but was wrapped in blankets and treated for potential hypothermia.

Sunny's Take

Smith's quick action bought precious time in a situation where seconds mattered. Firefighters later told him that without the ladder to cling to, the boy likely would have drowned before help arrived.

The teenager's instinct to help first and think second saved a life that winter day.