NRD employee nearly drowns

An Omaha man working for the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District nearly drowned in a farm pond near Wahoo, Neb., on Thursday.

Firefighters and paramedics from four local departments helped save the man, Robert Heimann, 47, said Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz.

Ultimately, Heimann was pulled from the pond, flown by helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center and treated for hypothermia and a leg injury. He was listed in serious condition later Thursday.

Heimann had been stuck in the cold November pond water for an hour-and-a-half, because of suction from a drain pipe, which also cut off the circulation to his leg.

Stukenholtz said Heimann was clearing debris away from the pipe when he was sucked in. A coworker held him in a bear hug to keep his head above water.

“If it had sucked him down any farther he'd have drowned,” Stukenholtz said. “It was indescribable, the amount of force that water had going through there.”

Rescuers struggled to free him. Their friends and family brought in jet skis and boats. A diver managed to get a line around Heimann. Rescuers on boats finally managed to pull Heimann from the drink.

“It felt pretty helpless when you had a guy who was three inches from drowning and in a lot of pain, and you couldn't get him out,” Stukenholtz said.

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