Boy, 8, dies after falling through ice at Hurley Park

Published 12:23 am Monday, January 12, 2015

By Mark Wineka

mark.wineka@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — An 8-year-old boy died Sunday afternoon after breaking through ice and going underwater in a pond at Elizabeth Holmes Hurley Park.

Kymello McLane, a second grader at Overton Elementary who had been at the park with two friends, was submerged in the icy water for upwards of 20 minutes.

Salisbury firefighters located him within 18 minutes of  receiving the 911 dispatch at 2:39 p.m. He was stabilized and transported to Novant Health Rowan Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 4:01 p.m.

EMS workers started CPR in an ambulance at the scene before it headed off to the hospital at 3:08 p.m.

McLane’s friends, both 11, said the he was walking on the iced-over pond and fell back and broke through the ice. They attempted to reach him with sticks but were unsuccessful. They then placed the 911 call.

Lts. Brian Sebastian and Eric Bost worked from a Salisbury Fire Department raft, using poles to poke through thin layers of ice while they searched for the boy.

When the firefighters located McLane, they pulled him into the raft and were quickly pulled to a bank where an EMS crew and stretcher were waiting.

“EMS, coming to you,” one of the men shouted as McLane was pulled out of the water. “Go, go, go.”

A small creek feeds the pond, which is located at the end of Hurley Park next to City Park off Lake Drive. Hurley Park is a garden park with trails, and the three children were playing in that area around the pond.

The boy’s friends helped Salisbury Police officers in showing the approximate area where the victim had fallen in.

Chris Kepley of the Salisbury Fire Department said the incident hit her colleagues hard. When the boy was pulled from the icy water, he was not responsive.

Salisbury Police said the first units from Salisbury Fire, Police and Rowan County EMS arrived on the scene within five minutes of being dispatched.

“When emergency personnel first arrived, they were unable to visually locate the victim,” a Salisbury Police press release said.

Members of the Salisbury Fire Department deployed tag lines, donned personal flotation devices and entered the water in search of McLane. As additional resources from the Salisbury Fire Department arrived, the raft was deployed with Sebastian and Bost on board.

Contact Mark Wineka at 704-797-4263.