Playing in the Creek After a Storm

From: 
Story type: Near Death Experience
Location: East Brunswick, Nj.
Source: Form Submission
Date submitted: Fri Jul 24 18:32:09 2009

After a stormy day in East Brunswick, New Jersey.....my two older sisters thought it was a good idea to take our raft to the creek down the street. My sisters were 16 and 17 yrs old, and I was about 10 at the time. My sisters also brought along a friend of theirs, who was also a teenager. As we headed out the door, my mom told my older sisters to make sure not to allow me to go on the raft.. As we gathered ourselves to go, my two baby sisters came along as well, they were 6 and 7 yrs old at the time. Note, I am one of eleven children.

Well, after floating up and down the short, over flowing creek with my older sisters and their friend, we all decided it was time to get out and go home. All this was happening as my two younger sisters watched from the top of the bridge with an umbrella in their hands, keeping them dry from a light rain that was falling at the time.

So there was four of us in the raft, and I was the only one that could not swim. Most of my water activities were at the shore when I was a kid, and not many pools were in the area back in 1976, so swimming at an early age was not as prevalent, or so thats how I perceive it.

Well, first both my older sis and her friend got out of this inflatable raft that was probably no longer than 10' long. And then the fatal mistake, then my other older sister got out of the raft, leaving only me in there...and then the raft flipped over onto to me. Then, the current and my lack of skills pulled me under the murky, brown creek water. It happened so quickly, I vaguely remebered my two younger sisters just looking from above the creek holding the umbrella, while I could not get above the water, and I was losing all my breath. Both my sisters and their friend at this time were searching all around this murky creek for me, but they could not find me. They were frantic and completely helpless, according to them I had been pulled under one last time, and was nowhere to be found.

Just at that moment, a VW bug pulled over to the side of this country road and without anybody prompting him...he immediately jumped into the creek, and quickly pulled me out of the water and pumped water out of my stomach. He said nothing, got in his car and drove off.....

We lived in a very small town and we knew everybody, and with eleven kids - everybody knew of us. My parents searched hi and lo, and asked around for weeks but could find no one who knew of this person who for no reason pulled over on the side of the road, jumped in the water, and saved my life. This man said nothing, and quickly drove away. I tell this story to my little girls all the time, I am not overly religious, and just as skeptical as anyone else. But I cannot deny what happened that day in East Brunswick, New Jersey in the creek by Tamarack Golf Course on Fresh Ponds Road...