a day ago
7-year-old recovering after near-drowning in Monongahela River
A little boy is recovering after falling into the Monongahela River in Washington County over the weekend.
Emergency crews were called to the California Wharf on Union Street Sunday afternoon.
Seven-year-old Christian Davis was fishing off the dock with his older brother when he fell into the river.
The brother jumped in after him, but the current was so swift he lost hold, and Christian was taken about a quarter-mile downriver before being rescued.
"I was scared. I wanted my brother, but he had to let go, so that broke my heart. I almost cried," Christian Davis said. "When I was reeling in my fishing rod, the current just took me in."
Davis recalls a harrowing incident that, if not for the quick actions of one man, may have taken his life.
"I thought he was going to die," Jaceon Bailey said.
Twelve-year-old Jaceon says the last thing he remembers is hearing a big splash of water, turning around, and seeing his little brother underwater.
Without thinking, he jumped in, but when he couldn't get a strong enough hold on Christian, he tried yelling him directions.
"I was just telling him to float on his back and stuff and to just try to swim to shore on an angle," Bailey said.
Rob Lincavage was downriver when he heard a loud commotion.
"I just hear this blood-curdling, terrible screaming from here," Lincavage said.
He says he instantly knew someone had gone in the water, so he ran to the boathouse, grabbed the keys to his neighbor's boat, and headed toward the dock.
On his way up the river, he spotted a man who was trying to help Christian.
"By the time I got to the splashing, all I could see was the bottom side of the kid. He was basically just about underwater. His head was under water already," Lincavage said. "I threw a life vest to the guy who was trying to help him."
Lincavage was able to pull Christian onto the boat and take him back to the dock where EMS personnel were waiting.
"I was happy he was actually alive and stuff," Bailey said.
"I feel super good and now I can just still enjoy my family," Davis said.
Christian and his family stopped by the dock on their way home from the hospital on Monday afternoon.
Christian, who is overjoyed to be back home, has a message for the man who helped save his life.
"I really want to thank him, he's like the best. Thank you, Rob, if you're watching this," Davis said.
The boys' family bought life vests on Monday for both of them and says they won't come down to the river without them from now on.
