An off-duty firefighter came to the aid of an 8-year-old boy who fell 10 to 15 feet down a rocky waterfall.
The rescuer, whose name was not released, was hiking when he heard cries for help, Capt. Tommy Rutledge with the Gwinnett County Fire Department said. The boy was with his mother and other children at Little Mulberry Park in the Dacula area when he fell over a split-rail fence and down the ravine, Rutledge said.
Fire crews had to carry the child a considerable distance through the woods and up a slanted ravine, Rutledge said. The boy was alert as he was rescued from the wooded area on a spine board and was flown to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite in stable condition.
Investigators believe the boy and others were between 30 and 50 yards off the path at the park. It was unclear why the boy was on the other side of the fence, which serves as a barrier from the waterfall, Rutledge said.
-- Staff writer Kristi E. Swartz contributed to this article.
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