HAWLEY, Pa. — In video taken by a member of the Forest Volunteer Fire Department, you can see rescuers trying to save a teenager who found himself stuck in the rushing waters of Middle Creek in Hawley.
Theodore Budzinski lives in the Baker Street Apartments near the spillway and said two kids were attempting to cruise down the river when they tumbled into the water.
"They were going down the river on an air mattress, and that was a rough current yesterday. You shouldn't be out on there, no ifs, ands, or buts."
One of the teens made it to shore on his own, but the other couldn't swim to safety.
Hawley Deputy Fire Chief Eugene Krause says it was a collaborative effort by several departments to get the teen out of the water safely.
"We got the neighboring fire company's aerial ladder, and they stuck that out over the river. That was just enough to get over the top of him, lowered a rope down along with a safety harness, got him in the harness, and picked him up and swung him back on the shore," Krause said.
The speed of the water made it a very dangerous situation for the teen in distress and for all the first responders trying to save him.
"Be safe in what you're doing, think about your consequences, and try to play out the goals. Maybe not go down the river for a couple of days for the way that it's running," advised Richard Groo, captain of the Tafton Dive Team.
"Thank God that nobody got hurt or killed. It was close. I saw him in the river there, and it was bad," said Budzinski.
"It was an outcome that really didn't have to happen if the kids had just used some smarts and stayed out of the river," Krause added.
Krause also said that Hawley police and Fish and Boat Commission officers were at the scene and spoke to the rescued teen. It is unclear if the teenager will face any fines or other punishment.