Justin A. Blouin saved Robert Hernandez from drowning, Southbridge, Massachusetts, March 19, 1993. Robert, 6, broke through ice on the Quinebaug River about 55 feet from the bank. Alerted to his plight from a nearby house, Blouin, 19, optical coating technician, responded to the scene. Blouin crawled, prone, onto the ice, but after a short distance he too broke through and was immersed in the frigid water. Blouin proceeded to Robert by breaking a path through the ice. Reaching the boy, Blouin lifted his head out of the water and with some difficulty pushed him onto solid ice. Robert was unconscious. Arriving police revived Robert and took him to the bank. With a life ring and rope, police pulled Blouin, his energy sapped by the cold water, onto solid ice, from which he returned to the bank. Robert required hospitalization, and Blouin was treated at the emergency room for hypothermia. Both recovered. 67629-7804
67629 – 7804
67629-7804