A 51-year-old Buffalo woman drowned while trying to rescue her 11-year-old daughter and another child from the rough waters of Lake Erie off Wendt Beach, Evans police reported Friday morning. The girls emerged from the water, but their hero did not. First responders pulled the girls out around 7 p.m., and they were alert and conscious, but the woman drowned. WIVB Two women jumped in to save the girls after they disappeared in the choppy waters. However, the heroic mother could not be reached in time and was later found about a mile from where she initially jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue the two girls.
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DiMartino grabbed the girl and pulled her towards safety; Officer Jeffrey DeVinney also helped bring her to shore.
‘My officers immediately started running and looking up and down the beach, ‘ Evans Police Chief Ernie Masullo told WGRZ.
Upon arrival, police learned that the mother of one of the children went into the water to try to rescue them. – Rescue crews received a call around 7pm for an incident at Wendt Beach Park in the Town of Evans. “It was very, very rough when we got down here”, says District Chief Nick Mecca with the North Evans Fire District. It’s best not to even be out in it when the waves are just slamming like they were.
Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz added, “There’s no boats on the lake here, this is a marina where you often see people out on the lake until late hours of the morning and all across Lake Erie”.
Swimming is allowed at nearby Bennett Beach, but yesterday evening lifeguards kept people from going too deep because of the high waves and rough water.
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Authorities have not released the identities or conditions of the rescued girls who were taken by ambulance to a local hospital.
