Teen pulled from James River after jumping in while eluding police
A 17-year-old boy was pulled from the James River in Chesterfield County this morning after police said he jumped into the water after initially eluding police in a traffic stop.
The incident began about 7:23 a.m. on Robious Road when a Chesterfield officer clocked a car with radar traveling 71 mph in a 45 mph zone. When the officer tried to stop the car, the driver continued to drive and turned from Robious onto James River Road. From there, the driver continued a short distance into Robious Landing Park at the James River, said Chesterfield Lt. Doug Mooney.
The driver then bailed out of the moving car and jumped into the water. The still-moving car drifted into an object, keeping it from plunging into the river, Mooney said.
The teen swam a short distance before climbing onto a stationary log in the river.
"With the air and water temperature, I don't think you could go too far," Mooney said. "The first thing he could get to was the log. I really don't think he could make it to the other side as cold as it is."
Chesterfield Fire & EMS were called to assist in a water rescue.
"For some reason, he was unresponsive to attempts to help him," Mooney said. "It could have been the initial shock of the cold water."
A firefighter in a wet suit had to wade into the water and physically grab him to bring him back to shore about 8 a.m. The boy was taken to a local hospital for hypothermia.
"Our primary concern was his physical well-being," Mooney said, who added charges are pending against the youth.
-- Mark Bowes
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Reader Reactions
Driving 20+ mph over the speed limit is reckless driving, which is misdemeanor and is a criminal offense that can result in jail time. Jumping out of a moving vehilcle is another count of reckless driving. Had someone been killed or injured by the car, he would be looking at manslaughter charge or even murder. Eluding the police is also a crime. Given the circumstances, this guy should be charged as an adult and serve some jail time.
ProudAmerican…
I have to disagree with you. At 17 years old people start making their own decisions. What this boy did does not mean he was not raised properly, but just means he made a bad decision.
You are correct. I will concede this argument to you. I guess I’ve forgotten what it was like to be a kid. I mean I was brought up well, but I guess I did do some stupid things myself as a kid. I was wrong to blame the parents in this case. My apologies.
“He should be charged as an adult”
Well, so far he’s only got a traffic ticket against him… and you’re not charged as an adult or a juvenile for those. Speeding isn’t a criminal matter either.
As for the eluding police part, I doubt they can charge a juvenile as an adult for that.
Just charge him as an idiot, take away his license for a while, make him pay back for the rescue, and let’s be done with it.
If his parents were in the car and told him to ditch it and jump in the river, then yes; they’re to blame. Otherwise the kid pretty much acted on his own.
Some people do dumb stuff regardless of their upbringing. You can’t hang this one on the parents.
Regardless of who blames who for what this boy has done, the main thing is that this could have ended a lot worse then what it did. This boy could have lost his life due to his incredibly stupid decision. Two parents could have lost their son. Someone could have gotten hurt by the car the boy jumped out of. There are many ways this could have turned out disasterous, but thank God it didn’t. Maybe the boys parents haven’t raised him right, maybe they have tried everything in their power to raise him as best they could. You can’t really point the finger because no one knows.
Let me also add that he should be made to pay for the rescue and the reckless driving ticket and whatever else is legally imposed on him. But with toughness should also come some compassion. At least I think so.
As the mother of four kids, none of whom have gotten in any trouble I think we are missing something very important here. Everyone makes mistakes. Thank God that this error in judgment by a child (yes 17 is still a child: legally and emotionally) didn’t result in his death. I will pray for the family in the aftermath of this situation. Have a bit of heart people.
“He should be charged as an adult and pay for the rescue as well!“
Aren’t all those rescued on the river (due to their own fault of course) charged for their rescue? As they should be for putting the rescuers at danger just to rescue them.
I usually don’t agree w/Jack but in this case I have to say I totally agree. Either he’s a spoiled brat whose parents have given him everything and he thinks he’s above the law or he was doing something illegal to begin with and thought he could get away. I think that the parents should be charged for the rescue and the kid will have the speeding and eluding police on his driving record and most likely his license will be revoked indefinitely. Unfortunately, even if he was raised properly this just erased all of that.
ProudAmerican…
I have to disagree with you. At 17 years old people start making their own decisions. What this boy did does not mean he was not raised properly, but just means he made a bad decision. I am one of 4 kids. We were raised in a home with both parents. Had a mom that stayed at home with us while our dad went to work. An ideal living situation. My parents have never even gotten a speeding ticket for crying out loud! Out of us four there had to be one bad apple in the bunch. My brother has been arrested for drugs, had numerous speeding and loud music tickets, dropped out of school, and the list goes on. At that age it’s more so who you get caught up with and what influence they have you on.
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