LEWISTON — Police are crediting the quick thinking of a 14-year-old Lewiston youth with saving the life of a 7-year-old boy who had fallen into the Androscoggin River.

Andrew Bilodeau admits he was scared last Wednesday when he waded into the river behind his family’s apartment after hearing cries of the boy’s friends.

He tells the Sun Journal that at first he couldn’t see the boy, but then he spotted bluish lips and a nose poking through the surface.

Andrew wrapped his arms around the boy’s midsection and dragged the limp body up the bank, fearing the child was dead.

The boy coughed up about a quart of river water. He was taken to a hospital and released.

Deputy Chief James Minkowsky says Andrew’s actions saved the boy’s life.


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