A Massachusetts State Police trooper saved the life of a teenager who fell through thin ice Friday afternoon in Fall River.
The 15-year-old fell through while trying to retrieve a soccer ball that went over a fence around 4 p.m. at Britland Park.
"He saw a sheet of ice, thought he could walk on it, and he fell through the ice into the water," said Trooper Kyle Duarte.
Duarte says he was in the area at the time, heard the call on his radio and was first on scene.
He found several of the teen's friend's grabbing onto him, trying to hold him up against a stone wall.
"The water was probably up to his neck, and once I assisted them, I was able to pull him up out of the water, over the wall, onto the ground," Daurte said. "Basically took his clothes off because they were wet and wrapped a blanket around him, and soon after that the ambulance responded."
Duarte also credits the teen's friends.
Massachusetts
The latest news from around the state
"It's safe to say that if his friends weren't there keeping him afloat, it could have turned out worse than what it was," he said.
The boy was transported to St. Anne’s Hospital for hypothermia, but is expected to be fine.
