January 5, 2020 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PAGE 11
Boys rescued from Forest Park pond
Two boys were rescued by a third boy after they fell through the ice on Strack Memorial Park in Forest Park on Christmas afternoon. Photo by Robert Stridiron
BY BILL PARRY
They were on thin ice. Two
boys, ages 9 and 12, had to be
rescued on Christmas Day after
the ice they were walking on
gave way, plunging them into
the waters of Strack Memorial
Pond in Woodhaven’s Forest
Park around 3 p.m., according
to the FDNY.
A quick-thinking third boy
grabbed a Parks Department
rescue ladder and used it to help
the boys out of the chilly pond
before the FDNY and NYPD
arrived on scene.
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The ladder was positioned
near the pond after a Glendale
boy, 11-year-old Anthony Perez,
drowned while rescuing another
boy, 12-year-old Juan Umpierrez,
who had fallen through
the ice at Strack Memorial
Pond in February 2018. Perez
had rushed in to pull his friend
to safety, but he couldn’t get
himself back out of the water
and became trapped under the
ice for up to half and hour while
Umpierrez ran to find help.
When first responders arrived
on the scene, firefighters
had to break through the ice
with their hands and then went
into the water to pull Perez out.
Rescuers performed CPR to try
and revive the boy, but they
were unable to save him.
He was taken to Jamaica
Hospital, where he was pronounced
dead. The two boys
who fell through the ice on
Christmas Day led away from
Strack Memorial Pond by firefighters
who tried to warm
them with white towels and
FDNY turnout coats. They were
transported to Jamaica Hospital
where they were treated for
exposure and non-life-threatening
injuries, according to an
NYPD spokesman. They are expected
to make full recoveries,
authorities said.
Meanwhile, NYC Parks Commissioner
Mitchell J. Silver is
warning park-goers in all five
boroughs that it is never safe
to venture onto the ice on the
city’s 96 ponds.
“No matter how fun the
ice may look, anyone walking
on the ice is taking a big risk
with their life,” Silver said.
“And, if an ice emergency occurs,
call 911 first, do not attempt
a rescue, leave it to the
professionals.
To warn visitors of the dangers
of thin ice, NYC Parks
posts warning signs around waterbody
perimeters in all five
boroughs. Additionally, special
red ladders are installed
around the edges in the event of
an emergency.
The same type of ladder that
proved effective in Forest Park
on Christmas Day.
Reach reporter Bill Parry by
e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
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