By Liz McBreen
Durante saw a man running down a pier near the bridge. "I thought it was odd," said the 42-year-old. "I went down to the dock to see if something was wrong." He stopped and got out of his truck while his father, who had come along for the ride that morning, went to alert the Bay Constable.
As soon as Durante was close enough to the water, he saw that there were two men in the channel, one almost unconscious, the other trying to keep them both afloat.
The men had been fishing off the Loop Parkway Bridge and one of them fell in. The other man quickly jumped in to help, but they were now both in trouble. "The tide was strong, and it was heading out," said Durante.
The man who had been running down the dock was Dan Eberhart. Durante told Eberhart not to jump in. " I was concerned that we would end up with three guys in the water struggling against the tide." Eberhart jumped in any way. Shortly after, Nassau County Corrections Officer Ronald Ley arrived on the scene.
With Ley's help and some rope, the two men were able to pull out the original victim. "He had started going into shock, and hypothermia was starting to set in," said Durante. "He was difficult to pull out of the water. He felt like a dead weight."
Once the victim was out of the water, Ley administered first aid. According to Durante, the other fisherman was, for the most part, able to pull himself out of the water. Both men were brought to a hospital, treated for exposure and released.
In recognition of their heroism, Durante, Eberhart and Ley were honored by County Executive Suozzi, Sheriff Ed Reilly and other county officials at a recent press conference.
"Because of the 43-degree water temperature there was great potential for loss of life. What this corrections officer and these residents did was courageous and deserves commendation," stated County Executive Suozzi. "Thanks to their courageous actions, a life was saved."
Durante feels he only did what anyone else would have done. "I didn't think much of it. I'm not sure why everyone made such a big deal about it."
Some would disagree. "It was a big deal, because when most people see that something is wrong, they usually pass right by," said Reilly.
