Teenage girls take part in water rescue and save a man's life

MAYFIELD, N.Y. (NEWS10) — With summer in full swing, water safety is a top priority around the Capital Region's lakes and waterways. A team of heroes saved a man's life after his jet ski overturned on Great Sacandaga Lake.

“I didn’t see anyone, so I was really nervous for someone’s life,” Hanna Quant said.

Sisters Hanna and Layla were on their jet skis Sunday afternoon before strong storms blew through the area. They were heading towards the shore when they spotted something in the water.

“I saw this thing. At first I thought it was a hit. So, I started getting into it and I was like, oh. It's a sunken Sea-Doo. I went in and checked if the key was in it. The key was there, so I was really worried about everything,” Hanna said.

It's what happened next that makes these teenagers heroes. “My sister called my mother and she, my mother, called the Pluchino Marina,” said the young hero.

Once the people at the marina received the call, they quickly went looking for the jet ski and the girls. “That’s when we told the girls to go home. Because the weather was getting pretty bad,” said Chris Pluchino, the owner of Pluchino Marina.

What they discovered next was even more alarming. “Chris saw the guy’s life jacket on the island over there. So we didn’t know what it was over there and we went over there. As we got closer, I could hear something. He was the one who blew the whistle, and we pulled him onto the boat, and we brought him back in with his skis,” said Justin Kozachuk, who works at the marina and helped rescue the stranded man.

“He was actually on one of these little submerged islands here when we came upon him and we lifted him onto the boat. He said he was trying, mentally preparing to spend all night on the water and he didn’t know how to do that,” Pluchino said.

The man they rescued remains anonymous. “He was visibly shaken. He was soaked with one water shoe, the other water shoe in the lake somewhere. [He] I really wasn't able to talk too much. I offered him a cup of hot coffee, something to drink, he kept shaking his head. We don't even know his name or where he's from. We just want him to return home to his family safely, so he continued on his way. But he definitely wasn’t in a good mood,” Kelly Pluchino said.

The girls received life jackets and other water safety equipment for their quick actions. Theresa DaBiere-Craig of GSL Safe Lake Initiative offered a few reminders while she was on the water. “The key word is life, right? They save lives and have become very fashionable. So we really recommend everyone on the water to wear them. You should always have your whistle attached to your life jacket, as it is also essential that you have a sounding device. Traditionally, they are all one size and it is very important to have the size that fits you well. Make sure it fits properly and adjust the straps. You should inspect your life jacket every year to make sure everything is working, the snaps, the buckles and we want to make sure that [life vest] is not going to slip,” DaBiere-Craig said.

All New York boaters will be required to take a safe boating course after January 2025.