Man Shocked After Jumping Into Lake

Saturday, July 21st 2007, 9:04 pm

By: News On 6

When you walk up to the banks of any lake or river, you can see the current moving. What you can't see is an electric current. The News On 6â€™s Joshua Brakhage reports one Green Country man got the shock of his life and is stunned he's still alive.

Grand Lake is still four feet above normal, just high enough to cover the conduit that provides power to the dock Tim Lyons jumped off of.

"Within about one stroke, I knew I was in trouble. I mean, just like that, and it was just almost instantaneous,â€ Tim Lyons said.

He felt himself sinking to the bottom and doesn't remember calling for his wife, nurse and lifeline Carol, who reached in to hold his head above water.

"I remember praying, 'Jesus help me, and I don't want to leave my family,' cause I honestly thought the next person I was going to see was the Lord,â€ he said.

"And I thought I just lost my husband, and I thought how long do you hold on?" said Carol Lyons.

She held on long enough to get help from nearby fishermen. One jumped in the water to help pull Tim Lyons out.

"Immediately, he jumped back into the boat, and he said 'oh, you've got live current.' And that's the first I realized what the real problem was,â€ said Carol Lyons.

Together they pulled Tim Lyons back on the dock. He needed to go to the hospital. Cardiologists were worried about his heart, but say he's doing fine now. GRDA says it's just another hazard of this high water.

"For whatever reason, that may not be something that comes to mind when we see the lake come up like that, but it certainly is something we've got to be careful to watch for,â€ said Justin Alberty of GRDA.

"Tim says his accident hasn't scared him away from the water. In fact, less than a week later, he hopped off the dock in the very same spot. But now, before he jumps in, he puts a toe in to make sure he won't find anything shocking under the surface.

"If you burn your hand on the stove, you never wanna do it again, so you're always gonna check,â€ Tim Lyons said.

Tim Lyons has flashbacks, but he's still piecing it all together.

"I just know it was a miracle,â€ he said.

Some docks are equipped with automatic shut-offs that turn off the electricity when they get wet. The GRDA says they encourage all dock owners to call them and get their docks inspected.

The number for GRDA is 918-782-9594.

Watch the video: Green Country Man Gets The Shock Of His Life