NASHVILLE, Tennessee — A 53-year-old Nashville man was rescued from a storm drain just hours before a major thunder storm hit the area.
The man was stuck in a bend of the storm drain pipe at the location of the Centennial Sports-Plex. Attendees at a swim meet heard the man’s cries for help and called police.
When citizens found the man he said, “Praise God. Thank you. I have been down here forever,” a witness told WKRN.
It took fire and rescue crews over two hours to free the man, digging down to the pipe and breaking it open.
The man told the fire crew he had crawled into the storm drain at Charlotte pike… about a half mile away from the site of the rescue. When asked why he crawled into the drain the man said he’d always been “adventurous.”
From WKRN-Nashville: “Firefighters had to dig down to reach the section of pipe he was stuck in to cut him out. He was in deep enough that they had to use a 4-foot pry bar to get oxygen to him as they worked to free him. He appeared to have been about 6 to 7 feet from the opening of the pipe.
A firefighter sat at the opening of the pipe and spoke with the man throughout the ordeal, explaining the process to free him in an effort to keep him from panicking.
The man suffered cuts to his body and appeared to be dehydrated. He was immediately given oxygen once he was free and taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation and treatment. The man’s identity will not be released.
It was a situation that could have ended much worse.”
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Legendary country music venues include the Grand Ole Opry House, home of the famous “Grand Ole Opry” stage and radio show, in Music Valley. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and historic Ryman Auditorium are Downtown, as is the District, packed with legendary honky-tonks, dive bars and dance halls.
Photo: WKRN
