Paralyzed woman cries for help from Utah lake, officials say. ‘Hero’ nearby rushes in
A Utah man raced to save a paralyzed woman struggling in a lake after hearing her cries for help, fire officials said.
Kelly Rountree had been playing darts with his daughter Aug. 1 when he heard a “muffled cry for help” coming from Stansbury Lake, the North Tooele Fire District said in an Aug. 7 Facebook post.
Rountree rushed to his car and drove around the lake, fire officials said.
On the other side, he found a paralyzed woman belted to her wheelchair and trapped in the water, rescuers said.
He took off her seat belt and held her head above the water until rescuers arrived at the lake to help her.
Now fire officials are calling Rountree a “hero” for his help saving the woman.
“This is a perfect example of people helping people, and while Kelly is very humble about his role in this, we have no problem calling him a hero,” the fire department said.
Stansbury Lake is a man-made lake that wraps around homes in Stansbury Park, which is about 30 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.
