Lisa J. Margaritis, 49, was on an Aug. 2, 2019, paddleboard outing when she paddled beneath a bridge in a large, tidal pond in Southold, N.Y. She fell from the board into a swift current and the board caught on a bridge piling. Margaritis, still tethered to the board, was unable to free herself and floated face down in the water. Michael B. Dunn, 60, real estate investor from Waterford, Conn., was jogging nearby when someone told him that Margaritis was in trouble. Dunn responded and jumped into the water, but was immediately carried downstream in the strong current. Dunn swam into an adjacent upstream eddy current and was carried back to a point upstream of Margaritis. He swam to Margaritis and turned her over. Dunn held Margaritis’s head above water as he trod water and struggled in the current. Shortly the tether broke, and the current carried them rapidly downstream. Dunn swam toward the bank with Margaritis. Once he could stand, Dunn dragged Margaritis, who was unconscious, from the water. She could not be revived. Dunn was tired and sustained a laceration to his foot; he recovered.
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