Cindy Lavorata, an employee in the Human Resources Department in the William Floyd School District, helped rescue a woman and her dog who fell off a dock into the cold water near the Mastic Beach Yacht Club today at approximately 12:20 pm. While she was on her lunch break, Mrs. Lavorata noticed a woman walking her two dogs on the pier when all of a sudden she, along with one of her dogs, was no longer visible.
Apparently, the dog fell into the water, and the owner went in to save the dog; but she was unable to get herself or her dog back onto the pier. Mrs. Lavorata rescued the dog, but was unable to lift the woman from the water. She then immediately called 911 and helped the submerged woman remain calm and afloat until police arrived. Suffolk County Police Department Seventh Precinct Patrol Officer Matthew White responded and pulled the woman to safety.
Mastic Beach Ambulance arrived to provide assistance and transported her to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center in East Patchogue for treatment of hypothermia. Thanks to Mrs. Lavorata’s quick thinking and calm approach, the woman and her dog were rescued and are expected to be fine.