NB teen rescued after diving accident at local pool: ‘I just thank them for their actions’ – New Brunswick

Like any other 16-year-old, Levi Sutherland was looking forward to getting his driver’s license, but those plans have been put on hold after a devastating diving accident last week.

The teenager from Riverview, NB, and his friends were celebrating the end of the school year at a local pool when something went terribly wrong.

“He had a diving accident and his friends immediately realized something was wrong and were able to step in and intervene,” said Levi’s uncle, Matt Sutherland.

“They are heroes. And I know for some young guys it’s a lot to take on. So it means a lot to us as a family, but they jumped in and intervened and were able to get him out.”

Matt says the actions of Chase Nagle, Elliot Arbuckle and Weston Baisley saved his young nephew.

“I’m actually a paramedic, so I was able to be on site and participate,” he said.

“I just thank them for their acting, you know, I don’t know what training they had… they did the right thing.”

Levi is now recovering from a serious spinal cord injury and is being treated at the IWK Children’s Hospital in Halifax.

Matt and other family members have one GoFundMe account for the teen’s family to cover the costs. The original goal was to raise $25,000, which they were able to achieve within 48 hours.

“It speaks to what people will do at a time like this and it speaks to the character of the individuals involved,” Matt said.

He says his cousin is currently less mobile, and they don’t know what the future holds. The family plans to update Levi’s progress on social media and continue fundraising as necessary.

“We don’t know what it will look like in days, weeks, months. There’s really no way to look at that, according to the experts there (in Halifax),” he explained.

What the family does know is that Levi will fight. Levi calls himself Iron Man, inspired by his favorite superhero, and Matt says he’s shown a heroic level of resilience so far.

“He’s still Levi. He will have days that are good and days that are bad, and besides, he is still a teenager,” he said.

“But I do know that he laughed at a few jokes, that he made a few jokes. He enjoys music. It will be a huge task to help him through this.”

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