Woman Recounts Springing Into Action To Help Save 4 Boys Who Fell Through Frozen Lake In New Jersey
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- Tonight there are new warnings about the dangers of playing on icy ponds after a dramatic rescue. Four boys fell through the ice while walking on a pond near Quail Hollow Road in Washington Township.
"I was looking out the window and I noticed five little kids out there on the ice," said Lisa Tan.
It was a harrowing experience for everyone involved.
"I tapped on the window to tell him to wait because I was going to run out there and tell them not to get on the ice. But by the time I even had that thought in my head, I saw four of the boys fall into the ice," Tan said.
Early Sunday evening four of the five brothers, ages 10 to 15 years old, fell through a partially frozen lake in Gloucester County off Quail Hollow Road.
That's when Tan sprang into action.
"I took a tumble in running out there while calling 911 at the same time. One of the boys was close enough for me to grab him out of the water," she said.
Other neighbors saw the chaos unfolding and attempted to help but Tan says the boys were smart, they were able to crawl to her where she was then able to pull them out.
But it was the last brother who left her the most concerned.
"The fifth one was a bit heavier, so he was having so much trouble. And I just kept remembering him saying, 'I don't think I'm going to make it, I don't think I'm going to make it.' I kept yelling at him just try your best," Tan said.
But with determination to stay alive, he did make it. The boys and their father stopped by her home Monday to thank Tan for her heroism. For Tan, she couldn't just standby.
"As soon as this was over I came home and cried because I thought to myself I was going to lose them, and I don't think I could bear that," she said.
According to the fire department, this lake rescue comes on the anniversary of another rescue on the same lake 26 years ago.
One of the boys just celebrated a birthday and his parents are grateful his life wasn't cut short.
