sassysmom

I am the wife of the scout leader that died. I want to set the record straight. Rob did not try to jump into the water to save the boy. He would not have done that because it was dark and he taught and lived the rule that you don't go into water to rescue someone- "reach, throw, row, go". The woman that had flagged him down has told me that he was on the phone talking to the 911 operator giving directions to the scene. He was not familiar with the area. It was 5:00 in the morning and pitch black. According to the witness, she said that it looked like the bridge was ahead and that they were just on a divided highway that had land between the lanes. She said that when the boy in the water began screaming, Rob immediately went to the side and went over the side as if he was scaling a fence. She said that he let out an exclamation of disbelief as he went over, but it was too late for him to stop his fall. He did viotate a rule of not checking what was on the other side of the median first. He apparently thought it was not too high or he was reacting to the screaming boy and thought he could jump down. I will never be sure. But I know that he would not have done it had he realized the height. He died of massive internal injuries.