Firefighters Rescue Homeless Nashville Man From Storm Drain — Just Before A Bout Of Rain
No one knows why a homeless man in Nashville crawled into a storm drain on Thursday, but what is certain is that if someone hadn’t come to his rescue, one bout of rainfall could have spelled his end.
According to WSMV, the unidentified man was rescued in the nick of time — not long after, it started to sprinkle.
“If we had some rain … obviously he was in a storm drain, so it could have ended … badly. I think he had a guardian angel … he was able to get out of there alive,” Brian Williams, who heard his cries for help, told WKRN.
Tennessee man rescued after 4 days trapped in storm drain http://t.co/MjxMDKbkDU pic.twitter.com/r5Js0lyHd8
— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) May 18, 2015
Authorities believe he entered it somewhere near Charlotte Avenue in Nashville. He apparently edged along for about a quarter of a mile, but it narrowed at a bend and he was trapped — an arm’s length from the exit.
It was a lucky place to be stuck — right next to the tennis courts at Sportsplex. That’s how his desperate pleas were ultimately heard: his rescuer was at a swim meet nearby.
“We used … flashlights from our cellphones and we could see … he was back in the pipeline a good ways, probably about 10 feet. He said, ‘Praise God. Thank you. I have been down here forever.’ And he was … very happy at that point.”
The rescue wasn’t easy — firefighters dug into the ground and broke a pipe, the Associated Press added.
Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any serious injuries, save a few cuts and a case of dehydration, and was given oxygen immediately and taken to the hospital.
[Photo Courtesy WNEM Twitter]
