Mastic Beach woman honored for heroic efforts to rescue jet skier who fell through ice
SUFFOLK COUNTY, Long Island (WABC) -- Suffolk County honored one of its own on Monday for her heroic effort to rescue a jet-skier who fell through ice on a lake.
Kayla Masotto, of Mastic Beach, had heard a commotion on Poospatuck Creek back on Dec. 26 and decided to spring into action.
Masotto had witnessed a man on a jet-ski sink into the semi-frozen lake. The water was so cold, the man was in the early stages of hypothermia.
"He was trying to climb up on the ice," Masotto told Eyewitness News. "So he was truly stuck."
But Masotto quickly grabbed her paddle board, paddled out to meet the man and pulled him aboard and was pulled to shore by other bystanders.
Asked if she was scared, Masotto responded with To be honest with you, I was not scared. Adrenalin takes over your body. I have no fear of the water."
Masotto's father, Constantino, acknowledged how proud he was of his daughter after having dealt with a familiar scary scenario.
We were going out to the canyon fishing 30 miles off shore and we got rescued by the Coast Guard," he said.
The man is okay, and for Masotto that's more important to be recognized after the two connected.
"He wanted to meet me and thank me, which was a honor," she added. "He was very emotional. He thought he was going to die."
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