A teenage boy has been updated to stable from critical condition after falling from a bridge at a Plymouth Township park Tuesday afternoon.
Ethan Otto, 17, of Novi, was exploring nature trails with his friends at Hines Park when he plunged about 20 feet from the top of a tunnel bridge into the Rouge River.
His friends say he was trying to dangle his feet over the edge of the bridge before the life-threatening fall. They also say Otto hit a broken tree branch on the way down, which may have saved his life.
"I saw him hit his side pretty hard on a rock formation on the way down and he was pretty, he was bleeding pretty bad from the head," said Chailyn Bryce, Otto's friend.
The group of friends were checking out trails when Otto decided to go above a bridge tunnel, his friends say.
"While we were down by the river, our friend decided to dangle his feet over the edge and lost his balance, the ground gave way, he tried to grab onto some branches and ended up taking a pretty nasty fall to the river," said Everett Kremm.
Fire crews rescued the boy from the water after he fell from the bridge.
Otto's friends said he was laying there in the river for around 15 minutes before Plymouth Township first responders got him out of the water and transported him to St. Mary Mercy Hospital.
