Sean Malone Remains Critical After Near Drowning, But May Owe His Life To Three Brave Teenagers

Sean Malone remains in critical condition after nearly drowning in near a Boston beach, but the situation could have ended tragically if not for the heroic actions of three teenagers.

Malone, who appeared in the movies The Fighter and Gone Baby Gone, swam too far from shore and started to struggle in the water. Chris Flaherty, a Boston firefighter who was at the beach at the time, saw Malone getting farther and father from shore and went on a paddleboard in an attempt to rescue him.

But as The Boston Globe reported, Malone was nowhere to be found by the time Flaherty reached him. But three teenagers who were out on a powerboat at the time — 17-year-old Joey Binda, 18-year-old John Feeney, and 17-year-old Elliott Chauvet – spotted Flaherty calling for help in the search and raced to him.

When Flaherty told the teens that Malone had disappeared, they began searching. Together they found the nearly drowned and now-unconscious man, and the teens loaded him onto the boat to bring them back to shore.

The Boston Globe recounted details of the harrowing rescue:

“Once they had Malone onboard, Flaherty told Binda, who was driving the boat, ‘Get him to shore as fast as you can.’

“Feeney and Chauvet assisted Flaherty in performing CPR on Malone, while the boat raced to meet two other off-duty firefighters, Ryan Long and Andrew Lane, at the bathhouse. The two firefighters were waiting with a defibrillator they had retrieved from the building.”

The teens were hailed as heroes, though no one was more proud than their own parents. Binda recalled telling his father about the rescue.

“When I first called him, he thought I crashed the boat or something, but he said he was really proud.”

Binda added that it was the quick work of a team of people that may have saved Sean Malone from drowning.

“I’m really glad that nobody panicked. I’m just glad we got to rescue him. It brought me and my friends a lot closer,” he said. “It’s kind of awesome that we saved a guy’s life.”

The family of Sean Malone — including his brother Scott Malone, deputy fire chief in Boston — said they were grateful for those who came together.

“Sean’s family just wanted to pass on that they’re grateful for the work everyone has done so far to give Sean a chance, and they’re praying for the best,” Steve MacDonald, Boston Fire Department spokesman, told the Globe.

But the actor isn’t in the clear just yet, People magazine noted. Sean Malone remained in critical condition in the hours after the incident.

[Image via Twitter/SuzieWZB]