Donna Massaro reflects on her near-death experience

MAHOPAC – Donna Massaro is grateful that her number was not called!

Last Sunday, the Mahopac native was paddling on Lake Mahopac with some friends and her dog, Joey, when a pleasant afternoon turned into a nightmare in a matter of seconds.

In an interview Tuesday, Massaro, who owns the Freight House Cafe in Mahopac and grew up on the lake, explained how a beautiful afternoon could turn ugly in a matter of seconds.

“I heard thunder in the distance and dark, ominous clouds were gathering. The wind became gale-force within seconds and calm Lake Mahopac turned into raging waves that resembled the Atlantic Ocean during a hurricane,” she said. “I’ve never experienced anything like it. My friends and I were separated. Joey was knocked off the board and as I was picking him up, we caught a wave and the board spun in the air and hit me in the head. It knocked me under the surface of the water, but amazingly I didn’t get a drop of water in my mouth or nose,” she recalled.

Massaro admitted to panicking, but she managed to break the vacuum between the board and the water surface that was holding her head in place.

I pushed the board up, it hit me on the head and flew away,” she remembers.

Meanwhile, her 65-pound dog managed to swim to an abandoned concrete ramp near the shore.

Massaro said one of her friends pushed her in that direction and allowed her to crawl up the ramp, resulting in cuts and scratches on her arms and legs.

“I was still in shock from the ordeal when suddenly the rain stopped and the sun came out,” she said.

Massaro said that as she was floundering in the lake, two boats heading to shore passed her by because they couldn’t see her struggling in the waves.

However, once on land, she noticed the Carmel Police Marine Unit nearby and screamed for help.

Officers Vincent Serio and Anthony Bambach were on patrol when they heard Massaro’s screams.

At the reunion on Tuesday, Officer Serio said, “We were searching the lake when we heard someone calling for help. We spotted a person right in front of the rocky shore.”

Officers threw Massaro a leash, grabbed the dog by the handle of his life jacket and hoisted him into the boat. They led Massaro to the stern of the boat, then unfolded the boat ladder and helped her aboard.

Massaro described herself as a “lucky woman. Thank God the officers arrived in time. I don’t even want to think about what would have happened if I hadn’t been wearing my life jacket.”

The storm was one of several microbursts in recent weeks that brought strong winds, torrential rain, and downed trees and power lines, cutting off electricity to many residents.