PV Man Saved in Dramatic Rescue on Lake Oscawana
A dramatic rescue made for the movies occurred last night in Putnam Valley when neighbors and emergency responders were able to pull a male out of a freezing Lake Oscawana after the ice had broken beneath him.
With the help of surrounding neighbors and other emergency workers, the man’s life was saved after he was in freezing waters shortly after 7 p.m.
Sheriff’s deputy Jonathan Bradley was responding to a call when he was flagged down around Coleman Landing by 14-year-old Zachary Kuttruf, who is a sheriff’s cadet and Boy Scout. Kuttruf led Bradley to the area of the lake where 49-year-old Brendan Foran, of Putnam Valley, had fallen through the ice, according to the sheriff’s office.
Foran had been riding an ATV across the lake when the ice gave way and the ATV fell into the freezing water. When Bradley arrived, Foran had already been in the water for ten minutes, clinging to a rock, the sheriff’s office said.
On the shore, Bruce and Jennifer Kuttruf, who live nearby, were attempting to rescue Foran by throwing a garden hose, but the hose was unable to reach him. When Bradley tried to throw the hose from a closer vantage point by walking onto the ice, the ice broke underneath his feet and he was unable to get any closer to Foran, authorities said. The water was not deep enough to give Bradley trouble though.
Jennifer Kuttruf then found an extension cord from her home with off-duty firefighter Jonathan Cummings tying a knot and throwing the cord to Foran to hold onto. From there Bradley, Cummings, and the Kuttrufs were able to pull Foran to the shore. Other deputies and EMS and Putnam Valley Fire Department volunteers had arrived and also assisted in getting Foran out of the lake and then carried him to the awaiting ambulance.
Foran was taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation and possible hypothermia and was later released.
“If not for the quick actions of Deputy Bradley, Brenden Foran could have died from this incident,” sheriff’s sergeant Thomas Lee said. Sheriff Robert Langley also commended his deputies, other emergency personnel, Cummings, and Zachary Kuttruf and his family who played a crucial role in the rescue of Foran.
