Fisherman helps rescue man trapped by fallen tree on Caney Fork River
The nearby dam was just hours away from releasing water.
SMITH COUNTY, Tenn. (WSMV) - A chance encounter on the Caney Fork River led to a rescue, as a Nashville fisherman helped free a man whose hand was crushed between two fallen trees.
Brandon Jones was fly fishing on the river near the Center Hill Dam in late October when he said he heard a call for help upstream. Wading through the current, Jones found a man whose hand was crushed between the large trees on the front of his boat. Jones said he “didn’t sound alarmed or distressed.”
“He’s on the front end of his boat. His phone is on the back end of his boat, so he has no way to call for help,” Jones said. “I climb onto the back of his boat, and I see that he’s got like a tire iron between these two trees where he’s been trying to create some leverage to get his hand out, unsuccessfully.”
Jones said after he called paramedics, he jammed a pair of bolt cutters into the tree, trying to help free the man’s hand while they waited for the rescue team.
“Right as we’re hearing the sirens come around the corner, we chip just the right spot, and it gives him just a millimeter to pull his hand out,” Jones said, “and his hand is a pancake, totally flat.”
Jones said he had no idea how long the man had been out there, but the nearby dam was just hours away from releasing. That would have raised the river level by 3-5 feet in a matter of minutes, which might have led to a grimmer outcome.
“I went back to that part of the river a week or so later while the dam was generating water, and you couldn’t even see the trees that his hands were stuck between,” Jones said. “They were completely submerged.”
The man was taken to a local hospital. He kept all of his fingers despite the injury. He has since regained mobility in his hand.
“He texted me that night saying, ‘I owe you some fingers,’” Jones said. “He wasn’t distressed or alarmed or wincing in pain the whole time. He just was very level headed and cool about the whole thing. He was a very impressive guy, and I’m glad he’s okay.”
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