2 NYPD officers hailed as heroes after rescuing man who fell through frozen lake in Prospect Park
PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Two NYPD officers are being hailed as heroes after rescuing a man who fell through the ice in Brooklyn's Prospect Park.
The city was only just beginning to thaw out after days below freezing, but in the heat of the moment, two NYPD officers in Brooklyn sprang into action.
"You take this job to put other people before you," said NYPD Officer Cristian Ferrante.
Ferrante and his partner Luilly Baez had seconds to react after a man somehow stranded himself in the middle of the lake in Prospect Park on Sunday night, and called 911 for help.
"As soon we got out of the car, that was when the ice cracked beneath him, and he fell in," Ferrante said.
"Now he's screaming and now we have to get him out of the ice," Baez said.
Ferrante said they put out a call over the radio that the man fell in, and requested all units.
But there was no waiting around. The two officers grabbed a Parks Department rescue ladder.
"Got out on my stomach, extended the ladder to him, my partner had my leg, and we were able to get him off the ice and into the ambulance," Ferrante said.
Baez and Ferrante work in the 78th precinct and have been partnered for only a few months, patrolling a sector that includes Prospect Park.
Their quick actions are credited with saving the man, when mere seconds meant the difference between life and death.
"They were having a rough time, and I was there for him," Ferrante said.
"This was an amazing day," Baez said. "Could have gone worse but this is an amazing day."
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