Man hailed a hero after saving boys who fell through ice

A neighbor rushed to the rescue after two boys fell through ice on a pond. They plunged into the freezing water below.

The boys’ parents say they were in the water for as much as 5 minutes.

It took some quick thinking and a little luck for the neighbor to pull them to safety.

Anthony and Cruz are the best of friends. But Sunday evening, that friendship may have allowed them to stir up trouble.

The pair was walking Sunday in the Stonecreek subdivision when some ducks in the water caught the boys' attention.

Anthony fell in up to his neck. Cruz was also struggling.

“I actually started praying at one point in the water,” Anthony said.

Without thinking, neighbor John Lavin says he rushed to save the boys.

“I grabbed the buoy and jumped in the water,” he said.

By the time both boys got to the hospital, their parents say their body temperatures had dipped nearly 10 degrees.

However, now they are doing well.

Emergency officials remind you never to go out onto the ice yourself.