Elderly man rescued after being swept away by creek

“He was able to call 911 himself, and someone else had seen it happen and called for help,” Wilson County Emergency Management Agency shift commander James Copas said. “The water carried the vehicle 100 yards or so away from the bridge, where it finally stopped until we got there.”

Because of the recent rain showers, the creek had risen, and the water was up to the sedan’s windows.

“We assessed the situation, and the vehicle was stable,” Copas said. “It had settled in, and it wasn’t moving anymore. So, we had an inflatable boat that we deployed with three rescuers on board. They paddled over to the car and placed a life jacket on him while he was still in the car. They pulled him out and into the boat and drifted to a previously-determined spot downstream where we could get him and the boat and the rescuers all out of the water.”

From the time that the call was placed to the time that the man was out of the vehicle, Copas estimated that 30 to 40 minutes had passed. The current flowing against the vehicle did not stop rescuers from being able to open up the door and guide the man into the waiting boat.

In circumstances where an individual is trapped in moving water, it’s the depth of the water that matters.

“This happens pretty frequently when we have heavy rains throughout the county and the area in general,” Copas said. “There’s a lot of folks that try to cross places and get swept away, not realizing what the power of what looks like just a little bit of water can be.”

The majority of first responders in Wilson County are trained in water rescue, and on-duty WEMA personnel were able to manage the rescue. Copas said that most of the WEMA responders on duty would have been trained through the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads.

“They actually go to the Ocoee River over in East Tennessee and do training over there,” Copas said. “It’s a great place to do swift-water rescue training.”

The rescue went smoothly according to Copas, who said that everyone — including the man trapped — remained calm throughout the ordeal.

“It’s what we train for, and it’s what we do,” Copas said. “It’s incumbent upon us to remain calm in those situations so we can make the right decisions. It went very smooth and very calm, and there were no real hiccups in there, which is a good thing because you sometimes run into those, and you have to overcome it. The gentleman himself was very calm which helps the situation.”

In any circumstance where an individual is met with standing water and is trying to assess whether to cross, Copas advises them to turn around.

“Just the slightest amount of water, even if you think you can make it, can push vehicles very easily,” Copas said. “It’s so much better to just turn around rather than try it.”