Fisherman rescued in Detroit River by same company that saved man who fell from Ambassador Bridge

DETROIT – A fisherman who fell into the Detroit River was rescued by the same company that earlier this month saved a man who plummeted 140 feet into the water from the Ambassador Bridge.

The fisherman fell into the river Saturday, July 22, at Riverside Park.

“He was hanging onto a piece of rebar or something that was on the dock,” Capt. Sam Buchanan said.

Buchanan has spent 38 years with JW Westcott. The company’s mail boats and crew members are often called upon to save lives.

Earlier this month, they rescued a worker who fell 140 feet from the Ambassador Bridge into the river.

Buchanan said this weekend, he was drinking a cup of coffee with colleagues when a man walked into their building asking if they could help a fisherman who had fallen into the water on the south end of the pier.

“He said he looked down to check his line, and then he just tumbled over into the river,” Buchanan said. “He was doing OK dog paddling in the river, but you see how choppy it is now. It was just like that, but from the small boat traffic.”

The fisherman was near the seawall, and easily could have gotten stuck underneath it, Buchanan said. The crew used a ring buoy and a ladder to haul the man aboard.

Buchanan said his crew practices for these types of rescues.

“You’ll see these videos where somebody’s in trouble and 100 people standing around and nobody is stepping in,” Buchanan said. “I could never be that person. You’ve got to help.”