A 19-year-old man suffered serious injuries when he fell from a rope swing into shallow creek waters Monday in Loudoun County, Virginia, officials said.
During a fun Memorial Day evening, the man is believed to have let go of the rope at the wrong time, plunging some 30 feet down to Goose Creek, near the Belmont Glen subdivision.
Terrified teenagers screamed to neighbors for help.
"He jumped into a shallow area and struck his head," a man said on an emergency dispatch call.
A Loudoun County Fire and Rescue crew used a special basket to get the victim up a steep embankment. The 19-year-old then was rushed to a hospital by helicopter.
Neighbor Amy Johnson said she and other neighbors called police several times in the past couple years because they saw young people trespassing into the creek.
"The kids are having a great time, but we all know it's just a matter of time before something bad happens, and, unfortunately, yesterday it did," she said.
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Johnson and neighbors said they hope the subdivision's builder will discourage future swimming in the area. No trespassing signs were posted but later disappeared.
Police said Tuesday afternoon that they would recommend adding cameras and no trespassing signs to the area. They may begin writing tickets for trespassing, they said.
By Tuesday afternoon, a neighbor had chopped off the rope young people used for many summers to plunge into the water.
