Mom, son cling to logs through the night after tubes flip on Catawba River
One mother and her 17-year-old son are grateful and lucky to be alive after spending an entire night clinging for dear life in the Catawba River.
It happened near the new whitewater attraction in Great Falls, South Carolina. Emergency workers told Channel 9′s Tina Terry that this could have easily been a recovery mission rather than a rescue.
Crystal Richardson and her 17-year-old son Justin told Terry that they went to the new attraction Wednesday with a family friend, hoping to cool off.
“My son is on summer break, and we were trying to spend family time together because we work so much,” Richardson said.
They tied three tubes together and put them in the river, but the force of the water eventually pulled the tubes apart.
“As soon as I fell off the inner tube, I hit a rock. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t see nothing, I didn’t know nothing,” Richardson said.
The three of them were forced in different directions. The force of the water was strong, and they ended up finding logs to hold onto.
They were stuck in the river all night long, hoping for a rescue.
Thursday morning, Justin decided to try and swim to the dam for help. A driver saw him and called 911.
“He was pretty much just standing there, and he was waving and hollering for help,” said Britt Blackmon, a training officer with Lancaster County Fire and Rescue. “They got on the scene, they got to the young man, he said he wasn’t alone.”
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Blackmon says they used a drone to find Justin’s mom and their friend. Then they got in the water to rescue them.
After their harrowing night in the water, Richardson is full of gratitude.
“God forbid, I don’t know what would have happened if nobody would have come,” Richardson said. “God helped us.”
Crews said the family entered an area that is built for experienced kayakers, and not for tubing. Safety signs warn that people should enter the water at their own risk.
Officials are warning visitors to always wear appropriate life jackets before getting in the water.
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