Heroic Lineman Crew Plunges Into Icy Flood Waters To Save Drowning Motorist In Western Virginia

Without question, these three men are true American heroes.

The full picture of damage caused by flooding in Appalachia continues to unveil itself as the waters begin to recede in communities through Kentucky and parts of West Virginia, Tennessee, and Virginia, but for all the bad we’re seeing, the stories of heroism exemplify the heart and strong culture of the Appalachian people.

We saw an absolutely incredible photo of a volunteer firefighter carrying an elderly woman to safety after she got trapped in her car during the flash flooding and it seriously needs more recognition because of the emotion it conveys…

Donations for Kentucky flood victims can be sent to the Team Kentucky Storm Relief Fund, which was created by Govenor Andy Beshear and sends 100% of the money to victims.

Then we heard the story of a mystery man in West Virginia diving into a flooded animal shelter to rescue dogs trapped in their kennels… He never even gave his name before leaving to go help others, which makes it that much more badass…

Donations for victims in West Virginia can be sent to the American Red Cross West Virginia Chapter or WV Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WVVOAD) “Disaster Recovery Fund”, the later guarantees that 100% of donations go to serve those in need and has a 95% rating on Charity Navigator.

Now, another story is coming from a third state, Virginia, where three linemen jumped into action when a man actually got swept away by icy flood waters right in front of their eyes.

Lineman Crew Saves Drowning Motorist

Tyler Blair, Jeff Dotson, and Cameron Lucy are linemen who work for Appalachian Power. They were out on a job in Thaxton, Virginia when they came across a road that had just started flooding.

Speaking to ABC13 News, Blair said:

“It’s unexplainable. Within minutes, it rose feet.”

Naturally, they decided not to try to cross the road, but while they were sitting there (probably figuring out how to break this news to their boss) a Jeep Wrangler approached the road from the other side and attempted to cross.

As you’ve probably heard many times in your life (and if you haven’t, please take this to heart) when you can’t see the road beneath water, “Turn Around, Don’t Drown!”

Apparently the man driving the Jeep thought his “off-road ready” vehicle would have no problems handling a little current, but as soon as he began attempting to ford the flood, things went horribly wrong.

Jeff Dotson explained:

“The front drivers side tire dropped over the bridge and the current just took the Jeep. The Jeep was upside down submerged for probably 5-10 seconds.”

Fortunately the vehicle flipped back over but continued tumbling downstream until it wedged itself between two trees.

The three men immediately knew they had to do something and began yelling at the man to stay in his vehicle, since it wasn’t going anywhere and the water was unbelievably cold. But yet again, the driver made a poor decision and got out of the Jeep. The current immediately pulled him under and swept him around 300 feet downstream from his car, where he was somehow able to grab onto a tree branch.

Without hesitation, the linemen ran towards the man, who had mere minutes before he’d go hypothermic. They tied one side of a rope around a tree, the other side around Cameron Lucy’s waist, and he plunged into the water to go save the man.

He said to ABC13:

“When I first got in the water, it was so cold it took my breath away,” said Cameron. “It was like someone took Saran Wrap and wrapped it as tight as they could; I couldn’t breathe.”

Despite rushing water up to his neck, he somehow made his way to the stranded man still clinging to the tree branch.

“I’m telling him, ‘Listen buddy, I’m gonna get you. Listen, it’s gonna hurt. Hold your breath, trust me, and grab ahold of this rope.”

Cameron got to the man, grabbed him, and began bringing him back across to the other linemen, who pulled the two of them to safety with the rope.

Even with how fast the three guys jumped into action, the motorist was in rough shape, proving that had they hesitated even a minute or so longer, he probably wouldn’t have made it:

“He was pretty much dead weight. Couldn’t hardly talk or nothing. He was in pain, disoriented. Hypothermia setting in.”

All of the men were taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia before being released in good spirits, which is a miracle in itself, but the real miracle is those three men being in the right place at the right time to save a man who absolutely would have otherwise died.

Even crazier may be that all three linemen went back to work the next day! Talk about dedication to the job and a calling to help everyone they can…

Tyler Blair said:

“We just reacted. We saw someone in danger, and there was no second thought of what we needed to do.”

Jeff Dotson added:

“If the Armageddon is happening, I want a lineman close by because we can honestly figure out how to get something done. I think it’s embedded in us. If we see a person in need, there’s no hesitation. We’re gonna do what we have to do.”

Hands down, these three men are absolute heroes, especially Cameron (the one who swam out to the man), though I believe either one of the other two would have done the exact same thing.

Tragedies like this flood are horrible and it would obviously be better if they never occurred, but when they do, we get to see the supermen and women that walk amongst us every day.

Donations for Virginia flood victims can be sent to the Virginia Red Cross. I haven’t been able to find a more localized organization specifically helping flood victims, probably because the damage in the state is much less than Kentucky and West Virginia.

My prayers are still being sent out to all the victims throughout Appalachia. We see you and are here to support.