Boater Rescues Woman Injured In Jet Ski Crash
MASHPEE (CBS) - It was a beautiful day on Johns Pond in Mashpee Monday afternoon and the beach was packed, but just before 2:00 p.m., a sharp bang directed everyone's attention to a spot in the water a few hundred yards out. Two jet skis had collided and a woman was seriously injured.
For Ed Lyons, the crash interrupted a quiet day on the pond. "I was just sitting on the beach not having any plans for the afternoon but that," Lyons said.
But Lyons and his wife knew the crash was bad so they hopped in their boat and motored out there to find a pair of damaged jet skis and two people bobbing in the water including a 19-year-old woman who was dazed and bleeding.
"I said we're going to move you very gently to the shore cause you've been banged up pretty good," Lyons said.
Lyons is a nurse and knew that jostling the injured woman too much might make things worse, so he reached over the side and grabbed hold of her to bring her to shore.
"She started to cry and she's like 'You know I can't breathe right' and I said 'Well that's OK we've got you,'" Lyons said. "I grabbed her by the life jacket and my wife piloted the boat."
The woman was eventually flown to Rhode Island Hospital with possible head and internal injuries.
Lyons was actually the first of four boaters to help out, doing much of the heavy lifting even before first responders arrived.
"It's a large pond and if something happens obviously it's going to take us time to respond so having bystanders who are willing to go out there and help is great," said Mashpee Fire Deputy Chief Jack Phelan.
Lyons says he's just glad he was in the right place at the right time even though he's a bit uneasy with all the accolades.
The 20-year-old man on the other jet ski was not badly hurt. He was taken to Falmouth Hospital by ground ambulance. Authorities are still trying to sort out why the jet skis collided.
