Teens help save their friend's life at Oconee River

ATHENS, Ga. - A day of hanging out along the Oconee River almost ended in tragedy for a group of teenagers. 

Four teenagers found themselves in a dangerous situation when the water started rising and rushing toward them. 

"It went from being about waist deep right next to the wall to at least 12 feet," said Jakolbie Jones

One of the teens in the group, Tyler Hall, was unable to get to higher ground. 

"He tried to come up the wall. I guess when he stepped on it, the current took him and knocked his legs off from under him and he went off the side of the wall," said Parker Sims

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In a matter of seconds, Tyler was swept away by the water and the three teens were unable to spot him. 

They said it was about five minutes before they could see Tyler in the water. 

"I said a quick prayer because I was going to jump into the water to see if I could grab Tyler and see if I could find him. Then about the time I finished with the prayer I looked and I see Tyler floating," said Brodey Gray. 

Parker and Jakolbie were able to get to Tyler. 

"We pulled him away from the water, just in case. His face was purple, his legs were purple, no color. Just like a completely lifeless body," Parker and Jakolbie said. 

The two immediately started CPR while Brodey called 911 and directed paramedics to where the three others were. 

By the time paramedics arrived, Tyler was breathing and awake. 

 "We had a guardian angel or God was on our side," Jakolbie said. 

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All three said they knew what to do under pressure and they all learned CPR in the JROTC program at Clarke Central High School. 

"Second nature or survival instincts just kicked in and it was just a matter of find Tyler, get him out of the water and start doing what we had to," Brodey said. 

"We knew what we were doing, thank god. but it's still kind of freaky because I never thought that I would actually have to use that," Parker said. 

Tyler is recovering at home and is doing a lot better.