Boy in critical condition after being pulled from water at Lexington reservoir

A boy was taken to the hospital in critical condition Friday night after being pulled from the water at a Lexington reservoir, according to the Lexington Fire Department.

Several juveniles who were at the scene told first responders the boy jumped off the dock at Reservoir No. 2 off Laketower Drive and didn’t resurface, said District Chief Zach Ferguson, of the Lexington Fire Department.

“He didn’t know how to swim,” Ferguson said the witnesses told them. He said officials had not confirmed that information.

The boy was taken to University of Kentucky Chandler Hospital after being in the water for about 40 minutes.

The call came in at 7:29 p.m., Ferguson said, and first responders arrived at 7:35 p.m.

Several juveniles pointed out the location where the boy went under.

“He was very close to where they pointed him out,” Ferguson said.

He said divers were in the water by 7:45 p.m., and the victim was pulled from the water at 8:10 p.m.

The water where the teen was found was about seven feet deep, Ferguson said.

Ferguson said several juveniles were in the water when the Lexington Fire Department arrived.

“They were trying to do what they can to rescue” the boy, he said. “We appreciate their efforts and their heroism, but it’s always best for (witnesses) to stand by and wait for us to get on scene.”

He said two fire department divers and two surface swimmers helped with the rescue, which was behind a townhouse complex at 543 Laketower Drive, not far from Henry Clay High School.

This is the second time in about a month that the Lexington Fire Department has performed a water rescue at a local reservoir.

A kayaker, Nicholas Davis, 28, drowned after his kayak overturned in the reservoir at Jacobson Park April 15.

Ferguson emphasized the importance of wearing a life jacket.

“Exercise water safety,” he said. “Have a personal flotation device on, especially if you don’t know how to swim.”