A Sheshatshiu youth was quick to act when he saw a friend who appeared to be drowning earlier this week, and his efforts likely saved that boy’s life.
Peter Nuna Jr., 14, is the talk of the town after he pulled his friend, Damon Gregoire, from a local river situated between the communities of Sheshatshiu and North West River.
“It was very brave of young Peter, what he’s done,” said Alex Andrew, whose son is friends with the boy. Andrew spoke with them a short while after the incident occurred.
“They came over to the house and told the story about it,” said Andrew. “Stephen (Damon’s younger brother) was so happy that Peter saved his brother’s life.”
It’s approximately 200 metres from one side of the river to the other in the area where the boys had gathered Monday.
Andrew said Damon made an attempt to swim across the river.
Peter noticed his friend’s face had dipped below the surface of the water after making it halfway across.
Sensing something was wrong, Peter went in the river and began to swim towards Damon.
Once Peter reached Damon, he grabbed the boy’s arms. Damon’s body was once again falling below the surface, and the weight pulled Peter down with him. But Peter did not let go, kicking as hard as he could to get back to the surface.
Peter told Damon to kick hard once they had reached the surface in order to help them reach the shore.
Andrew said Peter found the water to be very cold. Andrew suspects the water’s temperature may have played a role in preventing Damon from crossing the river.
Andrew said he was told that, upon reaching the shore, Peter’s arms were very sore and the boy was quite tired. Andrew said Damon is bigger than Peter.
Andrew said people in both communities are impressed with Peter, adding he thinks the boy should receive an award for his brave act.
“I put this on my Facebook, and there were so many comments,” he said. “I put it on my Facebook because I didn’t want this story to get passed by.”
The Telegram attempted to reach the 14-year-old boy to talk about his experience. However, Peter said he was too tired to talk.
arobinson@thetelegram.com
Twitter: TeleAndrew
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Peter,it's a wonderful thing to save a persons life, not everyone can act as fast as you did.I hope you get the recognition you deserve. Good man.