Teens Save A Man Who Drove Into The River In PRP
(WAVE) – Teenagers helped a man who had driven into the Ohio River after a medical emergency Monday evening, according to the Louisville Metro Police Department.
The teenagers told WAVE they were headed to the Greenwood Boat Ramp to fish, which is something they do together all the time. When they got there, a crowd of people was rushing toward the ramp, which is supposed to be closed. That was when they knew something was wrong.
They arrived just in time to see a car being pulled into the Ohio River’s current. Early investigation shows that the driver had lost control of the vehicle due to a medical emergency and drove into the river.
“Like it was fast. It was crazy fast,” Abraham Cruz said. The 17-year-old was one of three teenagers whose fishing trip quickly turned into a rescue mission.
“Some other people went and got a rope, and when they were getting the rope, I jumped in and got like right around here, as it was 10 feet away from the car,” Kenay Valdez explained, motioning to the river. “He untied the rope, threw it at me. I wrapped it around my arm, swam a little bit, tied it on the rear side of the car, and that’s when he pulled it.”
The person on the other end of the rope was 15-year-old Jacob Cruz. He said he “just wanted to help,” as he took the rope, pulling the car and tying it to a nearby tree. His brother, Abraham, had already jumped in the water, pulling the man out of the car as water continued to pour inside.
“We didn’t really understand how it got here. It was weird,” Abraham explained. “We didn’t expect a car to move that easily. So that’s when we were like, that was something.”
The evidence of that unbelievable effort is still stuck on the Ohio River banks. The driver, though, is safe and alive. “I mean, I didn’t get to fish,” Valdez joked. “Didn’t catch nothing. But we caught a car.”