A call came in just before 2 pm this afternoon, Tuesday, Dec. 18, of a person in the water below the McTeer Bridge. Emergency responders motivated from a number of local agencies to include Lady’s Island-St. Helena Fire District, City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department, Beaufort County EMS, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and the Port Royal Police Department.

First arriving firefighters were able to see the patient from the bridge and lowered a life vest via rope to the victim, which kept the patient from drifting with the tide. Then other firefighters were able to work with the harbor master at the Port Royal Landings Marina to get a boat out for a rescue. The patient was brought ashore to a waiting ambulance which immediately transported the patient to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

“This was a great result to a potentially bad situation”, stated Lee Levesque, spokesman for the Lady's Island-St. Helena Fire District. He went on to say, “The coordination between all agencies involved was extremely effective and the inter-agency operability once again resulted in a successful operation.” The cause of the incident is still under investigation by the Port Royal Police Department.