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Mother & Baby Fall 20 Feet Down Storm Drain, Samaritan Hears Baby's Cries & Calls 911

By Amanda Thomason December 8, 2018 at 2:45pm

A mother was carrying her baby across a high school parking lot in Tennessee when the unimaginable happened.

As she walked across a storm grate in the lot, it collapsed, sending her and her child plummeting into the dark abyss.

Think of how terrifying that must have been — you’re walking through a dark parking lot, when the ground suddenly collapses beneath you. You can’t see anything, you don’t know where you are, your baby is crying and you can’t see if they’re OK.

The pair fell down about 20 feet, and were unable to get out. It was already dark outside, but thankfully a passerby heard the baby crying.

The man called 911 when he realized the crying was coming from the storm drain. He had a flashlight with him, and explained what he’d found to the dispatcher on the other end of the line.

“Um, OK … I got my flashlight out. It’s fairly deep,” he said, according to WGAL.

“Can you see the baby when you look with the flashlight at all?” the dispatcher asked.

“The mom is screaming.”

“Now the female is screaming? OK.”

“911 is on the way right now!” the man shouted into the drain. “Hold on a minute.”

First responders were on the scene shortly after they were alerted, and it took them about half an hour to locate and rescue the woman and her child.

They had to enter a nearby drain to find her, but thankfully there was no water, and the mother and child were rescued.

One responder mentioned that they were happy to hear the baby crying as much as it was, since that usually signals that the baby is upset but not seriously injured.

The child had an abrasion but otherwise seemed in good shape, and the mother was airlifted to a nearby hospital but didn’t appear to have serious injuries.

It’s not clear why the grate broke, but thankfully everyone made it out OK.

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