Men jump into frigid water in Brockton rescue attempt

Valdo Centeio said it’s not uncommon for Cape Verdeans to enthusiastically yell. So, at first, he didn’t think too much of the commotion he heard at the edge of Waldo Lake Saturday evening, one of the bodies of water inside D.W. Field park.

Until, he heard a man say this: “He says, ‘I can’t find my kids.’ I’m like, ‘Where are they?’ Oh, they in the water,” Centeio said.

Centeio and his friend Yannick Depina didn’t wait for help to arrive. They became the help.

“I took off my clothes. Right away I jumped (into the water),” he said. “Cuz they’re like kids. No, I’m not going to wait for anybody to show up.”

When Brockton Fire and Police did show up, they learned three boys had gone in the water.

“A relative went in to get the first boy out,” said Brockton Fire Chief Michael Williams. “He did. When he went to return he couldn’t see the other two boys.”

The boy rescued is 11-years-old said Brockton Police Department Spokesperson Darren Duarte. His condition is unknown.

Within two hours, the bodies of 13-year-old Rafael Andrade and 12-year-old Tiago Depina were recovered from the frigid water. Authorities say the two were cousins.

“The two youths that perished were students at South Middle School,” said Brockton Mayor Robert Sullivan. “Grief counseling will be there today from 1 - 3:30 and then going forward.”

Centeio and Depina (no relation to the boy who drowned) wondered about the city’s response to the incident.

“One, two hours later the divers showed up,” Centeio said. “I’m like, ‘It’s too late. The kid is already, like, gone.’”

Depina can’t understand why a city the size of Brockton, with several bodies of water, lacks its own dive team -- and had to rely on a dispatch from Plymouth.

Still others think this should be a wake-up call to the city to upgrade areas of the park that are clearly dangerous. While there is a NO SWIMMING sign posted at the entrance to the park, there is not one in the area where the boys went in.

Neither are there adequate fences or anything to prevent someone from toppling into a rock-lined spillway.

“As a parent, as a resident in this community, it’s a tragedy all around,” said Bri Nichols, a candidate for Brockton City Council. “As it relates to public safety this is something the city now has to look at. You know this is an area where families come to engage in recreation: walking, observing the animals and the ducks that are over here. And we need to make sure that these areas are safe for children.”

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