Neil Maycock saved Michael C. Johnston from drowning, Centerport, New York, February 25, 2007. While walking on the ice atop Centerport Harbor, Johnston, 23, broke through at a point about 50 feet from the nearer shore. He was unable to pull himself from the water, the temperature of which was in the 30s, as was that of the air. Maycock, 40, company president, was walking on the shore, but several hundred feet away, when he was alerted to the situation. He ran to a point nearer Johnston, and then, removing his coat, entered the harbor in an area of open water that was clogged with sheets of ice. Pushing the ice from his path, Maycock waded and swam, despite wearing hiking boots, to Johnston, followed by his two dogs. Losing consciousness, Johnston submerged about then. He and Maycock grasped each other, and Johnston resurfaced. He grasped one of the dogs while Maycock held him by an arm and swam him toward shore, Maycock again having to push the sheets of ice away. Once they were able to stand, the men waded from the harbor. Johnston was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for severe hypothermia and cuts and bruises. Maycock was treated at the scene for cuts to his hands, and he recovered.
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