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Hero Grandma Saves 18-Year-Old From Drowning

FALMOUTH (CBS) -- Police say that quick thinking by a grandmother and other bystanders saved a teenager from drowning.

The teenager for some reason made his way out into the deep water,

Joan Brosnan, a Jenkins Pond beachgoer, was walking along the shore when saw the young man having trouble staying afloat in the water.

"We were actually having a nice family day at the beach and I saw the gentleman in the back, kind of flailing," Brosnan said.

Joan-Brosnan
Joan Brosnan with her grandchildren. (Photo credit: WBZ-TV)

Brosnan got to him just in time with a "boogie board."

"I jumped in the water and tried to hand him the boogie board, but he brought me under," she said. "It was tough and I had to fight free and try to get the boogie board to him again."

"By then I was trying to hold him up by his hair, but I couldn't; he was too big," she also said.

That was when the neighbor Brian Matthews heard the screams and came running.

He found the 18-year-old on the bottom and then a crew of people got him to shore.

"We got him to the shore and got him on his side," Brosnan said. "He started breathing on the way out and we got him on his side and he started to spit out water."

Matthews gave the teenager CPR. Police say that when the fire rescue units arrived, the teenager was able to talk and was alert.

The teen was taken to Falmouth Hospital for further treatment.

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