Simone Jasper
The Charlotte Observer
A couple used a dog leash to help save a teen who jumped into the water after her friend, Tennessee officials said.
The harrowing moments came after a 17-year-old tried to pick up trash near a dam and fell into the water. She got caught in the current under the dam’s waterfall, leading her 16-year-old friend to jump in to help on Sunday, Jan. 8, according to Robertson County Emergency Medical Services.
As the 16-year-old tried to keep the older teen’s head above water, a husband and wife who were walking their dog came across the scene. The wife “took the leash off of her dog and was throwing it to the 16-year-old,” Capt. Michelle Morris, a critical care paramedic, told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
Meanwhile, the husband called first responders at about 1:45 p.m. to a damn near the Robertson County fairgrounds. The scene was near the Springfield Greenway and along Sulphur Fork Creek, roughly 30 miles northwest of Nashville.
An off-duty officer driving in the area also helped the couple pull the teenagers back to land. After the rescue, first responders tried to keep the girls warm, as temperatures at the time were about 47 degrees, officials said.
The 17-year-old girl was unconscious and had experienced cardiac arrest. She reportedly regained a pulse and later was flown to a hospital.
The 16-year-old was rushed to a hospital for hypothermia after the attempt to save her friend, who nearly drowned and had been under water for up to 3 minutes, according to Morris and WKRN.
“Our prayers go out to the young lady and her parents, we are (incredibly) proud and thankful for the citizen rescuers who acted so quickly to help,” Brent Dyer, Robertson County EMS director, told the TV station.
___
©2023 The Charlotte Observer.
Visit charlotteobserver.com.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.