WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — On January 25 around 4 p.m., piercing screams of panic tore through the still air of this normally quiet Williamsburg golf community.
“I heard screaming because my room is all windows, so I can hear stuff,” said Colin Fitzgerald.
Two 10-year-old boys were playing on the frozen pond nearby, 30 to 40 feet offshore.
Sisters Alexa and Ana Hui were at home getting ready for dinner when they heard the terrifying calls for help.
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“I literally heard the ice break when they went in, which was pretty scary, so I ran down,” said Alexa.
“They were flailing, panicking, trying to hold onto the ice,” added Ana.
When their neighbor Colin Fitzgerald looked outside and saw what was happening, he jumped into action too.
“Ana was in front of me on her stomach so we didn’t break the ice,” Colin said.
“I got to the first boy first, and I grabbed him, and the ice broke underneath. It was kind of scary because all you hear is the ice breaking and you're hitting the water,” Ana said.
… water that is 38 feet deep.
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By this time, Alexa was also in the water, with all three high schoolers desperately trying to save the boys and themselves.
“As soon as you break through, it becomes real, like you’re in the water with them, so now you have to get out and survive,” she said.
After calling 911, Eric, Alexa and Ana’s dad, rushed down to help.
“There were two people in the water, then there were five people in the water, so it was about 60 to 90 seconds from going really bad,” said Eric Hui.
After the teens pushed the two boys to safety, they had to find a way out of the frigid water.
The girls’ dad threw them an extension cord to help get them back to shore.
“Ana and I both clawed our way out because you basically had to hit the ice to pull yourself out,” Colin said.
And we didn’t want this amazing, heroic deed to go unnoticed.
“On behalf of News 3, we would like to give you an Everyday Hero award for saving those kids,” I said as I gave them the awards.
We gave each of them an award and…
“We do have a community partner, Southern Bank, and Southern Bank would like to give you $300,” I added.
