Upstate New York mom drowns rescuing daughter in Lake Erie

An upstate New York mom sacrificed her life for her daughter Thursday night, jumping into Lake Erie to rescue the girl and a friend from drowning. The girls emerged from the water, but the hero mom did not.

The 51-year-old Buffalo woman, who hasn’t been identified, jumped into the choppy waters of Lake Erie, near Wendt Beach, to save the 11-year-old girls when they disappeared into the water, Evans Police Lt. Bradley DiMartino told the Daily News.

A weary DiMartino told the News early Friday that he jumped into the lake to pull the woman’s daughter to safety.

“The waves were just treacherous,” he said. “You had five, seven foot waves coming in. (The girl) grabbed me by the neck and I was able to get her in. I was out of gas. I didn’t think we were going to make it.”
Emergency responders rescued two girls from Lake Erie Thursday night, but a woman who jumped in to save the girls drowned.
First responders pulled an Evans police officer and the victim's daughter from the water

The drowning and rescue happened in Lake Erie near Wendt Beach in Evans, NY.
First responders helped pull DiMartino and the girl to safety around 7 p.m., he said. The girl’s friend escaped from the water around the same time, WIVB reported. Both girls were rushed to hospital in serious condition but are expected to survive, DiMartino said.

“It’s still not too happy a story because the girl doesn’t have a mother,” he said. “That’s just heartbreaking.”