SKOWHEGAN — A banker from Florida who is visiting family members at their riverside home in Skowhegan pulled a man from the Kennebec River on Saturday, just as Skowhegan police, fire and emergency medical personnel arrived to help save the man’s life.
Tom Cleaver of Bokeelia, Fla., said he heard a boater yelling to call 911 just before 5 p.m. Saturday because someone appeared to be unconscious in the water.
Richard Dunton, 64, of Skowhegan, who had been swimming with his wife just minutes earlier, was floating face down in the water, Cleaver said.
“I ran down and could see him in the water – it was just a couple of swim strokes beyond where you could stand up in the water, very little current,” Cleaver said. “He was face down in the water and I just pulled him into shore – it only took a minute or so, and by that time (Cleaver’s brother) Kip started to do (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) right away.”
Dunton was listed in critical condition Monday at Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where he had been taken by LifeFlight helicopter. There was no report Monday on what caused his loss of consciousness.
Morning Sentinel Staff Writer Doug Harlow can be contacted at 612-2367 or at: dharlow@centralmaine.com
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