Richard Silvia died attempting to save Kevin F. Vargas from drowning, Taunton, Massachusetts, January 18, 1999. Kevin, 14, broke through the ice covering First Pond at a point about 30 feet from the closer bank. He shouted for help. Kevin’s mother, alerted at their home nearby, responded to the scene. Believed to have been walking near the pond, Silvia, 39, mental health worker, was seen by Kevin’s mother inching across the ice toward Kevin, carrying a stick. When Silvia had reached a point about five feet from Kevin, he too broke through the ice and entered the frigid water. Silvia submerged and resurfaced repeatedly, then submerged a final time. Rescue personnel arrived very shortly and removed Kevin from the water. He required hospital treatment for hypothermia, and he recovered. Silvia was recovered from the pond about 45 minutes after he had entered it. He could not be revived, as he had drowned.
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