Family calls 911 to save overturned rafters in the James River

It was meant to be a peaceful family outing on Tuesday morning but quickly turned into a near-tragic situation. The Hollers family was walking Galena’s historic Y Bridge with their 18-month-old son, watching the flood waters rush by below.

“We were talking about how bad the waters were. I thought ‘Man, it would be terrible to be in a kayak or a raft right now’,” recalls Tayla Hollers.

Right about then, Tayla and her husband Brandon, heard voices from below, “It was scary. I couldn’t believe people were making, in my eyes, such a mistake.”

Four people were riding down the river on rafts. Hollers said they were calm at first, but they didn’t see the danger that lay ahead. The Hollers family had a birds-eye view from the bridge and could see trees and debris blocking the path downstream.

Hollers immediately called 9-1-1. She knew something was about to go wrong.

“They got downstream and their tubes deflated and they went different directions,” says Hollers.

At that moment, panic gripped the rafters as they realized they were in trouble, and they began shouting at the top of their lungs for help.

Tayla was panicked, too, “I was crying the entire time because they got out of sight.”

Within minutes Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader arrived. Rader worked with the Highlandville Fire Department to get a boat in the water where they rescued the three teens and one adult.

For Hollers and her family, they were at the right spot at the right time, “It’s a blessing we were there. I’m very grateful God put us there for a reason.”

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