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Lifeguard Rescues Waterfall Jumper

232 views · Published 28 June 2012 · 2:24 · Indexed 24 October 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2012 · News & Politics

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by John Madewell  Hannah Sheetz knew a man who jumped off a nearly 10-story waterfall was in serious trouble.The Chattanooga lifeguard was in the right place at the right time last weekend. John Crumpton's life was on the line at DeSoto Falls near Fort Payne, Alabama.Sheetz, her brother Ben, and her friend Luke Morris just happened to be in the swimming hole at the base of the waterfall. Sheetz described what happened to Crumpton immediately after impact. "Then when he hit I kept expecting his head to pop up just like the other guys, his head's going to pop up. Then, it never did. Then I saw his shoulders and head and he was face down in the water."Sheetz said Crumpton appeared apprehensive at the top of the waterfall, but followed the lead of his 16 and 20-year-old sons who had jumped in a few minutes earlier.Sheetz said on the way down, about 30 feet from the water, Crumpton started twisting for a landing flat on his back. Morris said, "Somehow when he hit the water, he bounced back upside down."Meanwhile, Hannah's instincts and lifeguard training kicked in, especially during the actual rescue. She held his neck and head in case of any spinal injury. Her conditioning as a lifeguard also proved helpful. "I don't think probably even a couple of months ago, I would've been able to tread water with him because it was extremely difficult." This 21-year-old lifeguard also had the presence of mind to yell to people above the waterfall to call 911.A heavy emergency response followed. DeSoto State Park Superintendent Ken Thomas praised Sheetz, "There is no doubt in my mind if Hannah would not have been in the place where she was, then we would have conducted a body recovery."Thomas said jumpers haven't been a common problem, but added the multiple warning signs are up for a reason. "The advice I give people is just to think twice. It's just a little common sense, there's a reaso

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