Rushing Water Sweeps Boys Through Mill Creek Tube

Erie rescuers say two local boys are lucky they were not seriously hurt after rushing water swept them all the way through the Mill Creek Tube to the Erie bayfront Sunday evening.

Rescuers received the call just after 8:00 PM Sunday, that the boys ages 10 and 14 had had slipped in Mill Creek off Glenwood Park Avenue near 29th Street and disappeared into the Mill Creek Tube. Emergency crews rushed to the scene and checked manhole covers along the drainage tube's path under the city but the pair washed all the way to the bay. They were climbing out of the water when rescuers arrived at the bay alongside the waste water treatment plant.

Deputy Erie Fire Chief Jeff Carroll said heavy rain Sunday made it dangerous to be near the creek. "There were three youths in the stream...playing when two of them slipped and went down through the tube itself. Definitely with the rain all day, waters were flowing pretty good...and they went all the way to this point...they were lucky," added Carroll.

Rescuers transported the pair to UPMC Hamot Trauma Center for treatment of minor injuries. "They're in good condition, they're pretty shaken up of course...a lot of abrasions to their back sides, bu Ibuthink they'll be fine," said Carroll. It's not the first time some one washed through the tube, but the chief says he hopes its a situation that won't be repeated.

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