CLARKSVILLE, TN (WSMV/CNN) - As a mother and her baby were walking across a storm grate outside a Tennessee high school, it gave way, and the two fell 20 feet into the drain, where investigators ultimately rescued them.
Firefighter Randy Ellis was part of the team that saved the woman and her baby, less than a year old, in 30 minutes Thursday night.
"Their thoughts were ‘let’s get the lady out as quickly as possible,’ and based off the time, they did a great job getting her out in a very timely manner,” Ellis said.
The woman sustained no serious injuries, while the baby had a scrape but is expected to be OK.
First responders say the two tumbled 20 feet down a storm drain and came to rest at the bottom when a storm grate gave way while the mother, holding the baby, was walking over it.
Thankfully, the basin of the drain was dry.
A passerby heard the baby crying but could not see the two due to the darkness. He called 911 and comforted the woman before first responders arrived.
"The baby was pretty excited, which is a good thing. You want, especially from a distance that far, you want to hear the baby crying like it was, and that’s what it was doing. That was good news to hear and see that,” Ellis said.
Rescuers faced some challenges, including having a hard time seeing and not having the right equipment at first, but they managed to remove the woman and child, who were transported to the hospital.
The grate was located in the back parking lot of Rossview High School in Clarksville, TN. The school system said they launched their own investigation into the incident, and every storm grate on each campus was inspected.
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