Youth Rescued from Gravel Pit Pond

Photo and Video by: Harry B. Scheeler, Jr.
ERMA– On Saturday, July 11 at about 5 p.m., Lower Township police received a 9-1-1 call from a frantic juvenile stating that his friend was unconscious and unresponsive in the water at gravel pits behind Wuerker’s Farm.
Lower Township police, fire and rescue units responded immediately to the area, however, there are numerous dirt roads leading into the area which contains several fresh water ponds. First responders had difficulty locating the exact pond, according to a Lower Township police press release.
Lower Township Police Officers Darrin Hickok and S/O Michael Iames arrived on scene and jumped in the chest deep water to assist the 14-year-old male victim who was being held in the water by a group of friends swimming with him.
Erma Fire Chief Warner Miller arrived on scene and was able to direct rescuers to the area. Preliminary assessment on scene determined that the juvenile may have suffered a neck injury while swimming.
Other juveniles at the scene advised police that when they pulled their friend from the water, he was unconscious and unresponsive. Several of the juveniles at the scene then performed CPR on their friend while he was still in the water. When officers arrived, he was semi-conscious.
The rescue effort was difficult because the victim was still in the water at the bottom of a 10-foot dirt cliff. Firefighters from Villas and Erma fire companies responded to the scene along with Lower Township Rescue and paramedics. They were able to stabilize the victim in the water, secure him to a rescue stretcher and carrying him up the face of the cliff to an ambulance waiting in the parking lot of the Cape May County Storage Bin Center located on the border of Lower and Middle Townships, off Fulling Mill Road.
Police used bolt cutters to cut a large section of chain link fence surrounding the storage center in order to give rescuers access to the ambulance.
Paramedics and Lower Township Rescue personnel worked on the juvenile who became conscious again. They requested a Medi-Vac helicopter but the mission was aborted due to mechanical problems.
The 14-year-old boy was transported by ground by Lower Township Rescue Squad to Cape Regional Medical Center and later airlifted to Cooper Trauma Center in Camden.
Lower Township Police Chief Edward Donohue, who was on scene, commend the efforts of police, fire and rescue personnel.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to this young man and his family,” he said.
Donohue wants to remind residents that freshwater ponds are unprotected and full of underwater hazards that have the potential to injure swimmers. They are also extremely difficult for first responders to access in the event of emergencies.
Police are not identifying the juvenile, stating only that he is from Middle Township.