(Danville) — Three people are alive because a local Boy Scout took their “Be Prepared” motto to heart.
Then-15-year old Jackson Wethington was fishing with some friends on the Roanoke River in Altavista last summer. Local scout leader and board member Steve Adkins says Wethington heard two girls in the river screaming for help. He and a friend swam out to them.
Jackson brought one victim to shore, but his friend was having trouble. Jackson went back, took the girl from his friend and brought her back. When he turned around, his friend was not there. “Jackson swam over, dove down a couple of times, recovered his friend and brought him to shore,” Adkins said. “He realized his friend was unconscious, unresponsive and not breathing; so he began CPR. Other people were shouting and it just so happened that a nurse was nearby.”
The nurse picked up CPR while Jackson went to flag down EMTs. “At the end of the day, two young ladies and a rescuer were brought to safety by Jackson. It’s a pretty cool story for Boy Scouts in the Dan River District,” Adkins said.
Wethington this week received the the Boy Scout’s National Lifesaving Award. Adkins says “be prepared” is more than just a motto. “The boys think they’re having fun while planning a camping trip, but they’re actually learning how to plan,” Adkins says. “When they’re learning these different skills they’re actually learning how to be prepared. Jackson was prepared, he had a plan, he executed it quickly and the outcome was great.”
Wethington is a Life Scout with Troop 374 in Danville.