A boy who was rescued by his 12-year-old friend from a trench in Cherokee County said he thought he was going to die.
It started last Friday as two boys began digging a trench on a vacant lot near their Holly Springs homes.
But when Jordan Marankie, 13, fell into the 8-foot-deep hole Thursday afternoon, dirt quickly covered him, even burying his head.
"With his hands above his head, you only could see the tips of his fingers," Tim Cavender, spokesman for the Cherokee County fire department, told the AJC.
The quick-thinking Brandon Biro, 12, helped dig Jordan's head out the dirt so he could breathe. Then Brandon ran to call 911. That likely saved the boy's life, Cavender said.
“The front of the trench collapsed covering me first, but I was able to get out," Brandon told firefighters at the scene. "My friend backed up into the dirt wall and the dirt fell in, covering him up."
Firefighters arrived about two minutes after the 911 call and helped rescue the boy, who was alert, Cavender said. The boy was transported to the hospital, but is expected to be fine.
“I was just thinking ‘I’m gonna die,’” Jordan told Channel 2 Action News.
“My mouth was covered with dirt. My eyes were open so they had dirt all in them. I had dirt everywhere,” Jordan said.
“I was just freaking out," Brandon told Channel 2. "First I ran over to him. I said, ‘If you can hear me, move your fingers. He started moving his fingers and I started digging him out and once I saw his hair, I started digging even harder and I ended up getting his whole head out and I said, ‘I’ll be right back. I’m going to go get my neighbor.’”
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