Jason Leary

Jason Leary attempted to rescue Lottie R. Alston from drowning, Spring Hope, North Carolina, August 6, 2025. Alston, 24, stood on the frame of the front, passenger window of her minivan after floodwater swept the van to the edge of a ravine that had overflowed its banks and flooded the nearby highway. Leary, 52, an on-duty police lieutenant, had responded to the highway and saw Alston holding onto the vehicle in the water. As he used his radio to request fire rescue personnel, an officer alerted him that Alston had fallen into the water. Seeing her taken downstream by the swift current, Leary gave the officer his radio, ran toward the water’s edge, and jumped into the ravine wearing his full uniform and boots, coming within 5 feet of Alston, who then completely submerged. Attempting to locate her, Leary, too, submerged and felt for her but was unsuccessful. Leary, then was taken downstream by the swift current about 90 feet, where his body struck a downed tree that extended across the ravine about 5 feet below the water’s surface. Leary tried to climb over it but could not, so he rolled his body so that the force of the water pushed him under it. About then, he resurfaced and was taken another 90 feet, where he saw an oak tree on the bank and grasped it, but he let go of it as water repeatedly splashed his head and went into his mouth, causing breathing difficulty. Leary was taken downstream to a point about 300 feet from the van, where he grasped trees on the bank, bracing his legs on one of the trees for stability. He then used his flashlight to signal for help. A police sergeant and fire personnel responded to the opposite bank and threw him a rescue rope. He grasped it, and they pulled him from the water to safety. Alston and her stepfather, who also had been in the van but exited at some point, were later found as water receded. They both had drowned. Leary suffered scratches and bruises to his ribs. He recovered.

2025-0000278-10550