Boston EMS EMTs Emswiler and McSweeney, who assisted in bringing the man onshore Saturday afternoon. Photo: Boston EMS
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Boston EMS and the State Police rescued a man in distress from the Neponset River on Saturday. Boston EMS said the call came in at around 3:00 PM on Saturday from Pope John Paul Park in Dorchester, where bystanders said a man was in the water.
When EMS and the State Police arrived, officials said the man was floating on his back but not able to swim back to the shore because the water was too frigid.
The agency credits Boston EMS Lt. Robert Stearns and a state trooper (identified by the State Police Association of Massachusetts as State Trooper Derek Tronca) waded waist-deep into the frosty water and managed to get the man a rope to pull him back to shore. He was about 20 feet offshore when rescuers found him.
The State Police Association said the man told his rescuers he had gone into the water to get his drone, which had crashed offshore.
EMS said two others EMTs helped pull the man ashore. The man was treated for hypothermia and transported to a local hospital.
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