Turn Around, Don’t Drown
A family tragedy in West Virginia on January 8, 1996.
Goose Creek in Ritchie County was rising from snowmelt and heavy rains. It was about six feet above normal from the flooding and filled with large chunks of ice.
On a family farm, a seventeen year old girl realized that the rising water might isolate their home and prevent her from getting to school the next morning. In order to prevent that problem from happening, her grandfather drove his pickup truck across the creek over a low water bridge to take her to his house.
As he and his granddaughter crossed the swollen creek, the pickup was turned sideways and rolled onto its side by the force of the water. The girl was swept into the icy creek. The grandfather jumped in after her.
The incident was being witnessed by the mother across the creek. She called her husband and son for help who also immediately dove into the water.
The bodies of the girl, her brother and grandfather were recovered from the creek the next day. The father’s body was not found for several days.
Another tragic lesson in the force of floodwaters. Please remember, “turn around, don’t drown.”
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