A New Hampshire teen who is headed off to the Navy in the fall is being celebrated for his bravery after he jumped aboard a wayward boat on a lake when its captain went overboard.
The boat was racing in circles on Lake Winnipesaukee on Wednesday with no one in control as other boaters could only look on helplessly, according to WMUR-TV in Manchester.
A clip of the incident shared by Rich Bono on social media showed the harrowing scene.
While multiple people appeared to be assessing how to stop the vessel, 17-year-old Brady Procon sprang into action from the back of neighbor Justin King’s personal watercraft after the children in the water were brought to safety.
The teen leaped to the out-of-control boat in an area of the lake called Smith’s Cove.
Within seconds, he stopped the boat from spinning by killing the engine and was met with an instant round of applause.
Procon also was praised for his actions on social media after the clip of the incident went viral:
Great kid https://t.co/u5jxj8e0u0
— Sonoran Stoic (@SonoranStoic) July 8, 2024
Nice kid. Impressive! https://t.co/1QRUj3xgPo
— Stocks/Real Estate, News and Macro (@markets1100) July 7, 2024
That was worthy of an Indiana Jones theme in slow motion
Impressive!
— Optimist Prime (@MrNiceGuyHaHa) July 8, 2024
USN has a good one heading that way https://t.co/LbqoNJTL5E
— Tony Chuck 🇺🇸 (@hplc_tech) July 7, 2024
The teen later spoke to WMUR about the incident.
“I was sitting on the porch and my dad yelled that there was an out-of-control boat in the wake zone,” Procon said.
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As for how he came up with a plan to put an end to the chaotic situation, the teen recounted, “I don’t know. I didn’t really think, it just came to me.”
He concluded, “I’m a little, I’m realizing what I did, a little bit scared, but it was fun. I’d do it again.”
According to Procon’s father, Jeremy, the wayward craft had been operated by a sailing instructor teaching children how to safely operate a boat when he accidentally hit the throttle and everyone went overboard.
No one was injured.