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Mike Sousek had been chest deep in 40-degree water for an hour, but being cold didn't cross his mind.
His heart was racing and his adrenaline rushing Thursday as he fought to keep friend and co-worker Bob Heimann from drowning in a farm pond near Wahoo, Neb.
“I just knew I couldn't let go, and I had to do everything I could to keep Bob's head above water,” said Sousek, rural water manager for the Lower Platte North Natural Resources District.
They had waded into the water along with another co-worker to clear mud and tree branches packed by beavers into an 18-inch drainpipe used to regulate the pond's water level.
It was a task Sousek and his colleagues had done at least 100 times, but it quickly turned deadly.
After trying several times to clear the pipe, the men stopped to discuss what to do next. That's when the debris suddenly became dislodged, and the pipe's suction strengthened.
Heimann, the district's operations and maintenance manager, instantly was sucked toward the pipe.
“At first I wanted to start laughing because I thought Bob lost his footing and fell in, but as soon as I saw his face, I didn't even think. I just jumped in and grabbed him,” Sousek said.
One of Heimann's legs was caught up to the knee in the drainpipe, and his head was barely above the water.
The third worker, Sam Barlean, an operation and maintenance technician, held onto the shore with one hand and onto a shovel with the other. Sousek held onto the shovel with one hand and gripped Heimann by his arm with the other.
“It was kind of like a human chain with a shovel,” Sousek said.
The pressure was too much, though, and Sousek and Barlean couldn't pull Heimann free.
They tried using a ladder and at least three different ropes from different angles.
“We tried everything and anything to get him out,” Sousek said. “I never felt like I was getting tired. I just felt so helpless. All I could do is hold Bob's head above the water, and that was the most frustrating part about it.”
More than 20 minutes later, Sousek let go of the shovel and got his feet set in the bottom of the pond as best he could. Then he put his arms around Heimann in a bear hug and waited as Barlean went to call for help.
Sousek said he tried to keep Heimann as calm as possible, though Heimann was in a lot of pain.
A short time later, firefighters, paramedics, a dive team and other rescue personnel arrived and began trying to free Heimann.
Sousek, who had been in the water for more than an hour by then, was so cold he couldn't unclench his fingers. He had to crawl out of the water. His legs were so numb he couldn't walk or stand up.
A diver managed to get a line around Heimann, and rescuers on boats eventually were able to pull him from the water.
By then, Heimann had been in the water for nearly two hours. He was flown by helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, where he was treated for hypothermia and a leg injury.
Heimann's wife, Teri, said Friday in a statement: “Bob is doing wonderful. We want to thank the Wahoo Rescue Squad, Yutan Dive Team, Bob's fearless co-workers, and the staff at Creighton University Medical Center. We also thank our friends for all of the loving support they have shown us during this time.”
Sousek said Heimann was walking and talking Friday afternoon but was still sore. His body temperature had returned to 98 degrees after dropping to 80.
John Miyoshi, the district's general manager, said he couldn't be more thankful for the courageous efforts of his employees and the more than 40 rescuers, including Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz, whom he called an “iron man.”
“We're a small organization of 21 employees,” Miyoshi said. “It's like a large family out here. We are always concerned with safety and the safety of each other.”
He said Sousek and Barlean “went to heroic measures to save the life of another employee.”
It wasn't heroic, Sousek said.
He just did what “any respectable human being would do,” he said. “I'm just glad it all worked out.”
Contact the writer:
444-1336, leia.mendoza@owh.com
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