Police: Father Tries To Rescue Son, Both Drown In Wissahickon Creek
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police say a 13-year-old boy and his father drowned in the Wissahickson Creek Friday afternoon.
Police say the two disappeared just before 3 p.m. near Valley Green Road and Forbidden Drive in Roxborough.
Cheif Inspector Joseph Sullivan says 41-year old Pete Luciano took his four children for a day in the park. The man's 13-year-old son, Jordan Luciano, waded into the water. The boy began to struggle, and Sullivan says his father then jumped in after him.
"And we do what any good father would do, we see our young son in trouble and we don't think about ourselves. And we go in to the water, and unfortunately that resulted in a double tragedy," Sullivan said.
Sullivan says police were called by Luciano's other three children, who ran to the nearby Valley Green Inn after their father began to struggle.
Police say the area where Jordan was swimming was over 10 feet deep, had debris on the river bed and also had a strong current.
"The depth of this particular waterway varies and changes very suddenly and you cannot really anticipate that," said Sullivan.
Rescue crews recovered the bodies from an area known as Devil's Pool. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
