Jeffrey LaPorta traveled more than a quarter of a mile through multiple
storm sewer pipes, at times completely submerged water, before finding
enough breathing room to await rescue. He was eventually pulled out of
the sewer in less than an hour, with only scrapes and bruises.
The teen was riding his bike with a friend on Tuesday through puddles
created by the rising creek, which flows near a strip mall parking lot
in Parma. He fell into the overflowing water just off the edge of the
parking lot and was forced into a drain pipe — roughly 2 feet in
diameter, authorities said.
"The water was moving so quickly it sucked him into the drain," said
Doug Turner, a spokesman for the Parma Fire Department. "It sucked him
in and pulled him probably 100 yards, full of water, where he couldn't
take his breath."
The pipe carried Jeffrey underneath the parking lot and into the
suburb's storm sewer. He was then shifted into pipes that grew
increasingly larger, Turner said. "Now the same amount of water is
flowing through there with a little bit bigger of an opening, so his
head actually bobs above water a couple times."
The pipes sent Jeffrey under four lanes of traffic, placing him across the street from where he was riding his bike.
At some point, the water became waist-deep, Turner said.
"He's able to grab ahold of something and stop and wedge himself in
there," Turner said. "But he's traveled about 1,500 feet from where he
initially started."
Jeffrey's friend, Miguel Torres, said he didn't see Jeffrey fall into
the water because had his back turned. He turned around and noticed his
bike in the creek.
"I heard a splash," Miguel, 13, said in an interview. "I ran over to
the creek and started looking for him. ... At first I just thought he
was stuck underwater or something. I didn't really think about."
Miguel then got the attention of a city worker, who had just arrived
at the parking lot to check out the flooding. The worker contacted
authorities, and firefighters from a station across the street from the
parking lot headed to the scene.
"I didn't know what to do at first," Miguel said. "If that city official didn't drive by, I don't know what I would have done."
Responders teamed up the city worker and others who had knowledge of
the sewer system. Firefighters then began searching for the boy
downstream, uncovering at least six manholes and calling out Jeffrey's
name before they heard him respond.
"One of the firefighters climbed down into the manhole, started
flashing the light around and could see the kid, but he was quite a bit
away," Turner said. "He just said, 'Hold on, we're coming to get you.'"
Jeffrey was pulled to safety and taken to a hospital, where he
received six stitches on his elbow, Turner said. He was released that
evening.
The teen was out of the sewer 43 minutes after authorities got the call — and 20 minutes of that time, they knew he was safe.
"It's a miracle that the kid was even alive, let alone hardly hurt at all," Turner said.
Multiple messages left at Jeffrey's home were not returned. But the
teen described his ride to ABC's "Good Morning America" on Thursday.
"It was dark, it was scary, it was nasty," Jeffrey said. "It was like
somebody is putting you in a big whirlpool and spinning you around and
getting your head knocked on the ground."
He said after he had enough room, he took a deep breath and was
determined not to give up. He was relieved when he saw the firefighter's
flashlight.
"In my head I'm like, 'Thank you, Lord.' I was praying," Jeffrey said. "I'm a little bruised up, but I'm lucky to be alive."
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