MASSENA, N.Y. -- Thomas L. Clark doesn't remember much about the two state park police officers who rescued him on the St. Lawrence River Saturday morning after he was overcome by fumes while piloting a 28-foot cabin cruiser.
"I'm so damn happy they were there," Mr. Clark, 70, Malone, said Wednesday. "They saved my life."
Officers John J. Friot Jr., 35, and Dustin T. Lottie, 32, have been hailed as heroes for a daring rescue in which they took control of Mr. Clark's boat as it careened toward a dam while he was incapacitated at the controls.
Discussing the incident Wednesday, the two said they were glad to hear that Mr. Clark was recovering from carbon monoxide poisoning, and expressed relief that no one was seriously injured.
"Some torn pants and hurt pride," Mr. Friot said, recalling his battle scars after leaping several feet up onto Mr. Clark's moving craft from a police boat.
Mr. Clark said he was returning his boat to the Robert Moses State Park marina after having mechanical work done when the boat began to stall. He used marine radio to summon help shortly before 11 a.m.
When officers Friot and Lottie arrived, Mr. Clark had started the boat up again. They decided it was still best to escort him into the marina, several miles away.
Both officers said it was the right decision. They didn't know just how right it would prove to be.
"It stalled out again and I got it started," Mr. Clark said in a telephone interview Wednesday.
One of the engine manifold pipes had blown a hole. He recalls lifting the engine hatch, dropping it on his foot and smelling exhaust.
"And that was the last thing I remember."
Fumes quickly filled the enclosed cabin. The officers watched in horror as Mr. Clark's boat veered sharply toward the Long Sault Control Dam.
"We could see he was slumped over the helm," Officer Friot said.
Officer Lottie quickly maneuvered the patrol boat alongside the out-of-control cabin cruiser. Officer Friot said adrenaline took hold as he leapt up onto Mr. Clark's vessel.
Officer Friot managed to stop the boat about 200 feet from the dam, Officer Lottie said. But the boat wouldn't start again, and it was clear Mr. Clark was in urgent need of medical attention.
Neither man had ever dealt with a rescue quite like this, but they had plenty of training in marine operations.
They quickly switched places. Officer Lottie managed to get the boat started, opened the cabin to let in fresh air and headed for the marina. There, an ambulance took Mr. Clark to Massena Memorial Hospital, where he was treated and later released.
Mr. Clark said he was still feeling the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning on Wednesday, but expected to recover.
"They did a hell of a job," he said of the officers, adding that he would like to thank them in person soon.
"That's why we took this job," Officer Lottie said.
"We took the job because we like to help people," Officer Friot said.
Copyright 2013 - Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
