MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) A few more details are available concerning the rescue of a mother and her three daughters after their car was swept into the Middle Fork of the Stones River Saturday.
Jodie Cowan tried to cross the rain swollen river at the Elam Mills Road slab Saturday evening, but the fast moving water pushed the car off the pavement.
Rutherford County Deputies responding to the family’s call for help found the car partially submerged with the swift water threatening to push Cowan and her three girls out of the vehicle and into the river.
Deputies and firefighters waded into the river’s edge, with some bracing against the current while others, tethered by ropes, went into the river to pull the Cowans to safety one at a time.
The water was so cold, one deputy commented that after being in the river just a few minutes it felt like his body had “completely shut down.”
Rescuers were able to reach mom Jodie, and daughters Ashley, Tiffany and Tommi Jo in time. They were treated at St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital and released.