Photo: Jimmy Ivan Jennings / Courtesy
Fed up with being stuck in traffic, driver Jimmy Jennings decided to jump into the river from a bridge in Louisiana , generating a frantic story with a miraculous happy ending and one of the most unusual videos of recent days in the US
Jennings made a decision on Friday, July 9, that could have been deadly. and although he survived, he was arrested. It all started when got stranded in his truck on an Interstate bridge 10 at Butte La Rose (I – 10 West), over the Atchafalaya River, due to a collision of 10 cars that produced a shutdown several hours.
He ran out of his truck and jumped into the river at an estimated speed of 55 mph , before the astonished gaze of several present. “When I hit the water, my shoulder lifted, I hurt a bit, but I started swimming”, narrated Jennings to ABC News. “I couldn’t go back to shore because current was too strong. ”
Khory Vaughan, a friend of Jennings’ who was with him at the time of launch and recorded the video, told WBRZ-TV : “We are familiar with the water (and the area), but I don’t think he was prepared for what came with it.”
The jump triggered a frantic search for Jennings. “I stayed in the water probably around… I had a watch on, I looked at it, probably around 2.5 to 3 hours. I thought I was going to die, but God saved me ”, affirmed. Eventually, he found himself back on the ground.
Then Jennings spent about an hour in an ATV he got, trying to find his way to Return. Then realized that he was on an island. “It was pretty crazy going back to shore. I had to walk. Where I was, I couldn’t even see the bridge. ”
Jennings said he found a house and tried to locate someone for help. He also found a boat and took it back to civilization. It was then that he was received by the police.
“I was walking and I heard the officers come after me with their guns and told me to raise my hands, but I couldn’t because I hurt my shoulders from the fall, ”Jennings said. “They all pointed their guns at me. They told me ‘get on the ground, get on the ground’. So I lay down on the ground, listened to them and they handcuffed me. ”
The police took him to an ambulance so that the paramedics could review it. The St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office said Jennings was cited for criminal mischief and burglary.
Jennings later wrote on Facebook that jumping was a bad decision and he gave the rescue teams credit for saving his life.
I looked for help
- Call 1. 888. NYCWELL ( 1. 888. 692. 9355 ).
- the text message “ WELL ” to 65173.
- Check information in https://nycwell.cityofnewyork.us/en/
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