Police, Fire, Tire Town workers hailed in river rescue
Published: May 24, 2007
A sigh of relief and gratitude echoed through the Rockville section today after a daring rescue by police officers, firefighters, and Tire Town employees saved three boys from drowning in a raging Hockanum River on Wednesday.
For Ruth Correa and Shona Hunter, whose sons were nursing bruises and scrapes today, the outcome could have been much worse.
Hunter’s son Shane Gonzalez, 11, and his two friends, Felix Correa Jr., 14, and Christopher “Peanut” Knoff, 13, were swept about 500 yards down the river from where they had been playing.
The swift current powered by the deluge from Wednesday’s fast moving line of thunderstorms pushed the boys downstream to the Union Street bridge, where they desperately clung for 20 minutes awaiting rescue.
The culvert, where they clung to debris and pylons, lies near Tire Town, a Union Street auto shop. The river is 13 feet below Windsor Avenue and Union Street, and is accessible there only by dropping down a sheer wall of concrete.
John Thompson, co-owner of Tire Town, said as they were closing up shop Wednesday they heard the boys’ cries for help.
As one employee called 911, others tried dropping hoses and ropes to the boys, calling down words of encouragement, Thompson said.
Officer Jim Grady and Sgt. Paul Miffitt were nearby, and arrived on scene within minutes. They assessed the situation and immediately plunged into the raging water.
“They didn’t even hesitate,” Thompson said of the officers’ actions.
The two officers stayed in the water with the boys, supporting them as best they could while they waited for firefighters.
Gonzalez was up to his neck, crying for his mother, Miffitt said. “They thought they were going under.”
“The water flow was pretty heavy,” Miffitt added. “Normally it doesn’t flow that quickly. And you don’t realize how fast that water moves until you’re in it.”
After the boys were taken out one by one by firefighters using ropes, police had a scare of their own.
A log flushed down the river struck Miffitt in his back, sending him off his footing and through the culvert further downstream.
“It happened too quick,” Miffitt said with a wry smile. “I wasn’t planning to go under the bridge.”
Miffitt said he grabbed hold of the log and rode it down river trying to stay afloat.
Meanwhile, Det. Steve Prattson and Sgt. Tim O’Connor followed him down the bank to an area where they could jump in and grab Miffitt before he washed away.
After being checked out at the hospital Wednesday, the boys returned to school today and the officers were back on the roads Thursday.
Correa and Hunter both said the boys were lucky, and that they’re thankful everyone is O.K.
“We’re just grateful for everyone who came,” Hunter said, adding “They saved the boy’s lives. They’re heroes.”
For Miffitt and Grady, who posed uncomfortably for television cameras Thursday, it was all in a day’s work.
“There were a lot of heroes in this situation,” Miffitt said, noting the efforts of the firefighters, police, the Tire Town employees, and the boys themselves for remaining calm. “This was a team effort.”
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