Local doctor helps rescue man fishing in Falmouth harbor

FALMOUTH, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) – A 44-year-old man is in critical condition after he tipped his raft while fishing with a younger man in Megansett Harbor Sunday morning.

State and environmental police responded to the harbor in Falmouth at about 8 a.m. for a report of a deceased man. Upon arrival, they found the male victim alive, but in critical condition.

Witnesses told police the victim was the father-in-law of the younger man.

Dr. Grover Baxley, a local doctor who happened to be fishing in the same harbor Sunday morning, told FOX 25's Crystal Haynes the victim was blue and not breathing. Dr. Baxley said the younger man was screaming and holding his father-in-law's head just out of the water.

Dr. Baxley allegedly attempted to pull the victim out of the water and into his boat, but the victim was just too heavy with waders full of water weighing him down.

In another stroke of luck, Dr. Baxley's friend, a local judge, responded with his boat.

"When you're there trying to get a man out of the water, and you realize the two of you combined can't get him out of the water, and another boat is pulling up to help. You gotta' figure out how to do that and how to get that guy into your boat. All of those things seem to be in slow motion because every second counts," Dr. Baxley said.

Dr. Baxley performed CPR on the older male victim until rescue crews arrived.

Both men were taken to Falmouth Hospital for treatment.

When asked if he felt like a hero, Dr. Baxley said, "I'm a physician. I've done a lot of CPR before, so doing CPR is second nature."

State environmental police are investigating the incident.

Cox Media Group