2 Hartselle natives survive wild ride in rapids
Dam water release sweeps duo downriver
Jason Bacaj
The Anniston Star
WEDOWEE — Two women, originally from Hartselle, were swept six miles down the Tallapoosa River from the R.L. Harris dam Sunday afternoon as Alabama Power released water to generate electricity. The two 24-year-olds were unhurt and able to swim to shore after roughly an hour in the swift current.
Lindsay Robinson and Meghan Lynn Heard, both 2006 graduates of Hartselle High School and Auburn University, drove up to Lake Wedowee from Auburn for a day to relax before Robinson, a high school special education teacher, started school again. It was hot, and around 12:30 p.m. the two walked out to a pair of logs in shallow water just off the riverbank to splash around and cool off, Robinson said.
They had heard the siren alerting those nearby that the dam was releasing water and knew not to go in any farther, she said.
The dam turbines ran from 12 p.m. until 1:24 p.m., said Alyson Fuqua, Alabama Power spokeswoman. It takes the turbines about 20 minutes to “get loaded” and produce a noticeably stronger current below the dam, she said. Water passed through the dam at a rate of 6,400 cubic feet per second once the turbines got up to speed.
On the way to a spot the two friends had visited many times in the past, Robinson slipped and fell into the current. Heard reached out for her while holding onto a large branch but the branch broke and both were carried off, clinging to the branch, Robinson said.
“We were in the water it felt like forever, a good hour, helpless,” Robinson said. “We kept looking at each other in the water saying we’re not going to die this way. It was horrible.”
Alabama Power didn’t learn that Heard and Robinson were missing until 3:01 p.m., long after the turbines were stopped, Fuqua said.
“We are extremely sorry this happened to them,” Fuqua said.
Each young woman panicked in turn, one calming the other as they were carried down the river. After a harrowing hour, they were able to settle their nerves long enough to realize they knew the area. Forest was on the left, they knew, and there were train tracks off the right bank. They made a split-second decision to swim for the shore when a train was sighted.
“I don’t know how we got to the bank, it was all a blur,” Robinson said. “Meghan let go of the branch and she was screaming ‘Let go!’”
Both are strong swimmers, Heard a lifeguard and Robinson a lifelong swimmer. They were able to reach the bank despite the current’s strength.
Once on land, they kept moving and planned to hike along the train tracks to safety. They climbed a fence, walked barefoot — their shoes were washed away in ordeal — through pasture, climbed another fence and reached the railroad tracks. The tracks were near the Malone Bridge, according to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Department report.
The two bikini-clad women tried to flag the train down but were unsuccessful, the report said. A CSX railcar stopped later and they were able to ride into Cragford, in neighboring Clay County.
From the railroad tracks, Heard and Robinson walked about three shoeless miles into town and were able to borrow an older couple’s phone to call 911 around 3:30 p.m. and let them know they were alive and unhurt.
A Randolph County Sheriff’s deputy drove and picked them up.
The odd turn of events hadn’t quite set in as of Monday, Robinson said. Once the two women were reunited with the other two members pof their group — Heard’s husband and his friend — they joked about how they were a teacher and a nurse, not teenagers, and knew better than to get in the water while Alabama Power was releasing water.
In addition to the sirens, the power company has many signs alerting the public to the dangers of the dam and publishes a schedule of releases, Fuqua said.
“We’re thankful to be alive,” Robinson said.
Story used by permission from http://www.annistonstar.com.
