Elderly man who fell into river rescued by crews, good Samaritan

Click here for updates on this story

    FORNEY, TX (KTVT) — Body camera footage was released of a rescue in Forney that involved an elderly man who fell into a river and was swept away.

Police said they responded to an area near Highway 80 and the Trinity River bridge Saturday afternoon after receiving a 911 call from a man who said he was in the water. He told police he was hanging on to a root system.

An officer, Laramie Kennedy, and a private citizen, Daniel Washburn, were able to find the man. Washburn went into the water to help until more personnel arrived, according to police.

Crews were able to get a life jacket onto the elderly man and used a rescue rope to pull him onto land.

Police said the victim was in an accident and his truck had flooded. As he tried to get out of his truck, he fell into the river, according to police.

“The Forney Police Department would like to commend Officer Kennedy, Mr. Washburn and our partners with the Forney Fire Department, Kaufman County Sheriff’s Office, Kaufman County Pct 2 Constables Office, and CareFlite EMS for their efforts in saving this man’s life,” Forney police said in a statement.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.