Girl survives spill over dangerous Warren dam

WARREN

The Warren fire chief calls it a "miracle" that a teen who ended up floating down the Mahoning River Monday afternoon went over the lowhead dam at Summit Street and survived.

The girl, who had been on a fishing trip with Trumbull County Children Services, went into the river in Packard Park and floated over the dam and was rescued just south of there in Perkins Park.

The distance she traveled might have been nearly a half mile, and it's likely she was in the frigid water about 20 minutes, Nussle said. The first 911 call came in at 5:56 p.m. She was reportedly pulled from the river at 6:12 p.m.

A CSB employee went in the river trying to save her, but he was not successful. He was briefly considered missing in the water but was located at about 6:14 p.m. on a walking path near Perkins Park, according to the county 911.

"It's really a miracle she survived," Fire Chief Ken Nussle said of the teen."She's the first person I'm aware of who has survived going over the lowhead dam," he said, adding that he's aware of two or three others who did not survive in the past 20 years.

The girl, whose identity and age Nussle did not know, was rescued by a good samaritan. A number of people learned of her getting caught up in the river current and watching for her to reach Perkins Park, Nussle said.

The girl was wrapped in a blanket and taken to a local hospital. Nussle said he did not know her condition but said his firefighters, who were just entering the river at about the time the girl got out of the river with the good samaritan, said she was extremely cold.