In the nick of time
Quick-thinking teen saves elderly man from drowning
When 16-year-old Avery Gale saw that 90-year-old Kenneth Cross had fallen into the water off the community dock at Marion Bridge Sunday evening, he acted fast.
Without hesitation or worry about his safety, Gale ran across the road, into the water and helped the retired lobster fisherman get safely to shore.
“Once I saw just his head, his hair coming out of the water, I knew I needed to get him out of the water, I needed to get him air,” the Grade 11 Riverview Rural High School student said.
“He was drowning and his wife was standing halfway out in the water, just watching him drown right in front of her. It was pretty scary to see. But I am glad I made it there in time.”
Gale, from Sydney River, was with his friend, Josh Pezzereallo, doing jumps off the bridge. They were on the opposite side of the road from where the dock is, but Gale said in between jumps he saw Kenneth and his wife, Mary Cross, 79, walk down to the dock and Kenneth sit on the edge with his back facing the water. For a second Gale thought Kenneth would fall in, but then returned to practising his flips.
It was normal for Kenneth and Mary to walk to the dock and sit; they had been doing it regularly since moving to Marion Bridge from Louisbourg two years ago. However, this time Kenneth lost his balance while standing up and fell backwards off the dock.
“I went ass over kettles into the water,” he said, with a rueful smile and laugh.
“I’m a good swimmer, been swimming all my life, so I didn’t worry much. I just started swimming to the shore.”
His wife of 22 years didn’t remain as calm.
“It scared me so bad and I was just hoping I could get in to get him out,” she said.
Swimming close to the dock, Kenneth got hooked on something, possibly a piece of metal, which led to him struggling to keep his head above the water.
Meanwhile, Mary, not a good swimmer, was in waist-deep water and screaming for help. It was her screams that caught the attention of the Gale and Pezzareallo, who originally thought it was the sound of children playing.
“I just wanted to get a hold of him and get him out. Then I saw the two boys running down the hill,” said Mary.
“I thank-God there was someone there. When I saw them I knew they would help.”
Gale, who works part-time at a local McDonald’s franchise, wasn’t supposed to be jumping off Marion Bridge that day. He and his friend were heading to Albert Bridge, a higher bridge, to jump when Gale stopped for gas. While pumping gas, he made a spur of the moment decision to go to Marion Bridge first, to do some “warm up” flips before trtying the higher jump.
“It’s weird how that happened,” he said, admitting he feels he was meant to be there that day.
After pulling Kenneth from
the water, the two teens took him to Gale’s car, turned on the heat and wrapped him in towels. Then they took him to his apartment where Emergency Health Services met them, thanks to Rob Bowden, who witnessed the rescue and called 911.
Kenneth, a cancer survivor who also has a pacemaker, was taken to the Cape Breton Regional Hospital where they found some water in his lungs. They kept him in for two nights for observation and tests.
While talking about the events on Sunday night, Kenneth cracks jokes and laughs. It isn’t until he is asked what he
would like to say to Gale, who was sitting across the room from him, that he gets emotional.
“Thank you,” he said softly, looking at the teen as tears welled up in his eyes, and unable to say more.
The first thing Gale did after emergency responders took Kenneth to the hospital was call his mom, Lori Gale, to tell her he saved a man’s life. While she seemed surprised it had happened, the married mother of three wasn’t surprised her son did what he did.
“I’m so proud of him. It’s so amazing … I think that’s who he is. I don’t think he would be someone to stand by and watch someone in trouble.”