ANN ARBOR, Mich. – A former EMT was in the right place Tuesday when an 11-year-old boy fell through a frozen pond in Ann Arbor.
Michael Hood, who was an EMT in Detroit, was at West Park with his dogs when he heard the cries for help.
“I said, ‘You all right?’ I was pretty sure he wasn’t,” Hood said.
The icy water was up to the boy’s neck.
Hood told a friend to call 911 as his instincts kicked in.
He worked to calm the terrified boy as he waded through muck and water to get to him. He used his walking stick to move across the ice.
“I gave him the stick and said, ‘Hang on with all you’ve got,’ and I pulled him in toward me,” Hood said.
Hood said he got the boy onto the ice but it broke underneath him again.
“So, I just grabbed him this time, pulled him in,” he said.
Once he got the boy, he dried him off and put his clothes on him. He said he used his dogs to warm and comfort the boy.