A retired lifeguard sprang into action to help rescue a 14-year-old boy from drowning in the choppy waters off Rockaway Beach on Sunday.
“It’s a miracle that we found him,” Basia Lewandowski told the Daily News. “I hope he makes it.”
Lewandowski was visiting with friend and fellow lifeguard Amanda Reynolds on the sands near Beach 75th St. shortly before 6 p.m. when lifeguards were alerted that the teenage victim was floundering off the coast of southern Queens, Lewandowski said.
Reynolds immediately dove into the sea as Lewandowski sprinted across a jetty in an effort to direct her partner towards the drowning boy, she said.
“Amanda’s in the water and I ran out on the jetty, running point so I could direct her where to go,” she recounted.
The retired lifeguard then joined other rescuers in the water, where they formed a line in order to sweep the coast in hopes of spotting the submerged teen, Lewandowski said.
“We did our protocol, which is a diving line,” the retired lifeguard described. “All the lifeguards line up and we sweep the water.”
Precious minutes ticked by before one the rescuers happened upon the unconscious teen and the swimmers began the arduous task of towing him back to shore, according to Lewandoski.
“He was really heavy, so getting him out was kind of hard,” she said.
The boy was submerged beneath the rising tides — which at the time of the rescue were off limits to swimmers due to risk of lightning — for as long as five minutes, and Lewandowski said he was foaming at the mouth as rescuers tried to resuscitate him.
“We did CPR right away, chest compressions,” Lewandowski said. “He was foaming, it was a lot of water.”
Paramedics rushed the teen to St. John’s hospital in critical condition, according to police.
As the ambulance pulled away, the lifeguards on the beach mused at the incredible odds of them finding the boy at all, Lewandowski said.
“I think we’re all just shocked that we actually found him,” said Lewandowski.
The rescue off Rockaway Beach follows the tragic near-death drowning of Rikeverns “Ricky” Joassaint, who remains on life support after slipping beneath the surface of Prospect Park Lake last month.
