MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — A 17-year-old boy was taken to a hospital in The Woodlands for treatment after being rescued from the San Jacinto River on Sunday.
Firefighters with Needham Fire and Rescue helped save the stranded teen.
Authorities were dispatched to the scene when they got reports that two teens who were swimming had been swept away by the current.
When they arrived, one of the teens had made it out of the water and the other was about 100 yards downstream clinging to a tree limb in the middle of the river.
As a Needham firefighter, who is also a rescue swimmer, went into the water to save the teen, he broke loose from the limb. Luckily, the firefighter was able to grab him and swim to the opposite shore.
"It just happened that where the patient was located was right next to some underbrush and some bushes. That is ultimately what I used to assist us in getting out," rescue swimmer Lt. Tristan Murphey said.
The teen suffered from exhaustion and had swallowed a lot of water. He was last reported to be stable.
Officials said the river was flowing at about 15 mph on Sunday. The rescue swimmer who saved the teen said getting to him was a challenge. He said that's why they recommend people to stay out of the water when conditions are like they were.