A Columbus man was in good condition at Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle Saturday night after his boat overturned on Luxapalila Creek earlier in the day and rescuers pulled him from the frigid water.
At 4:30 p.m., 911 received a call about the man, later identified as Lewis Richardson, of 1123 Sixth Ave. N., who was seen holding onto an overturned boat floating down the Luxapalila under the Pickensville Road bridge.
Rescuers from the Columbus Police Department, Columbus Fire and Rescue, the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, and Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle ambulance service descended on Luxapalila Creek Park, and began hiking upstream in an attempt to reach Richardson, according to Columbus police.
Police Sgt. Ross Richardson encountered citizens Brian Lindsay and Roy Gilmore, who were about to put a boat in the water, and asked them to give him a ride towards Richardson. Lindsay and the police sergeant then began to move upstream, but the boat had mechanical problems, according to Columbus police.
At this point, Ross Richardson saw another boat moving upstream and in it was Police Lt. James Bush. Ross Richardson climbed into Bush”s boat and the pair continued toward Lewis Richardson.
While the two were moving toward the man in the water, an announcement came over the radio that Lewis Richardson was out of the water, but was suffering from hypothermia. Richard McBride, from Columbus Fire and Rescue, had jumped in the water to save Lewis Richardson and was able to pull the man to shore, according to Columbus police. Several firefighters and police officers then worked together to pull Lewis Richardson from the water.
Lewis Richardson then was placed in Bush”s boat, and Ross Richardson shielded the man from the wind as the trio went back downstream toward the ambulance. An ambulance crew determined Lewis Richardson”s body temperature was 88.3 degrees.
Columbus PD Public Information Officer Terrie Songer commended the responders who helped pull Lewis Richardson from the water.
“They saved his life, no doubt about it,” Songer said.
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