A North Carolina man took a calculated risk by jumping into the fast-moving waters of Helene to save a woman because he couldn’t “watch her die.”
Eddie Hunnell (57) was in Grassy Creek on Saturday, before Austin Hunnell married, when he noticed floodwaters engulfing Lesley Worth’s house.
Onlookers were seen on video screaming “Are You There?” and “Jump!” as they stood on the New River’s banks.
Hunnell’s mind was racing as he tried to think of other options.
“I was taking calculated risks when it happened.” Hunnell lives in Holly Springs just outside Raleigh, about 200 miles from the accident.
To the gasps and laughter of those watching, he jumped into the water with a life jacket on his back, and a rope at his side.
In an interview broadcast on Monday, he stated that he was a former lifeguard and “I’m in good shape” but I couldn’t stand to see her die. “I felt that I had to do it.”
Hunnell was not aware of the magnitude of the incident until he went to sleep.
He said, “It wasn’t until I laid down in bed the next night that it hit me. I almost had a panic disorder. But I couldn’t think of another way.”
Worth and her husband were devastated by the flood, but grateful that they survived. They were guests at the wedding rehearsal dinner.
