FARMINGTON – Police were warning people of the dangers of walking on an ice jam in the Sandy River, after emergency personnel responded to a call Tuesday of a youngster walking on the ice and falling through.
Farmington police officer Drew Hufnagel said he responded to a call on the river at Whittier Road and Route 156, after a passer-by saw two kids walking on the ice in the middle of the river and one falling partially through into the water. By the time the passer-by turned around he could not see anyone.
Hufnagel said he was in the area, but he too did not see anyone when he arrived at the scene.
Hufnagel called for rescue personnel, and more than 14 firefighters from Farmington and Industry responded, as did the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department. A rescue helicopter was also getting ready to go in the air, he said, before the two teenagers, ages 15 and 16, were seen running up the road.
One of the brothers, who live on Whittier Road, did partially fall in, Hufnagel said, but was able to get up and walk off the ice.
Hufnagel took the teens home and notified their mother of the incident, and warned the youths that if there had been a large search without cause, their mother possibly could have had to pay the bill.
It wasn’t the first time that police have had complaints of people walking on the ice jam in the river, Hufnagel said. There was a complaint the other night that a woman was on the ice with two children, taking pictures of them.
If people fall through the ice into the water, he said, hypothermia would set in and they could drown. In addition, he said, the lives of rescuers would also be at risk.
The water current under the ice is moving swiftly, Hufnagel said.
Comments are no longer available on this story