Men saved after boat turns over on Pushaw

ORONO – Four local men came to the rescue of two Brunswick men after the men’s small fishing boat capsized in rough water in Pushaw Lake. The four men reached them minutes before fire and police personnel arrived.

James Troiano, 39, and his stepson, Eddy Gray, 22, were plucked from the lake about 10:30 a.m., shortly after their 12-foot aluminum boat capsized, throwing them both into the water, according to Maine Warden Chris Dyer. Dyer said the boat tipped a couple of hundred yards off Hemlock Point.

Coming to their rescue were Dick Valentine, Jim Ashe, Steve Van Dolman and Tom Daries, all of the Orono area, Dyer said. They initiated the rescue operation after hearing the men’s calls for help.

Gray was taken to a Bangor hospital out of concern that he might have suffered hypothermia while in the water and also so that a cast on his leg from an unrelated accident could be replaced, Dyer said. Troiano was not injured.

The two men had been out on the lake fishing shortly before the mishap, according to Dyer.

Though the two each had a life preserver, neither was wearing one when the accident occurred. Only one of them managed to get his life preserver on as the boat turned over. The other vest was trapped under the boat and was inaccessible.

Dyer warned that boaters should use caution on Maine lakes.

He said that Pushaw Lake was flat and calm around 7 a.m., but the wind made for rough conditions later in the morning, with 2- to 3-foot waves.

“Even though it’s summertime, when people go out [in boats] they need to have the appropriate safety equipment,” he said.

State law requires all boaters be equipped with life preservers, though only children 10 and under must wear that at all times while boating.

Dyer said it would be wise for adults to do the same.