Gwinnett County officials to swimmers: Stop swimming in dangerous river

Gwinnett County police have seen enough.

Over the past few weeks they said they’ve caught several people swimming – where they shouldn’t be – in the dangerous currents of the Yellow River in Stone Mountain.

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Channel 2′s Justin Wilfon went to the park to look at those dangerous currents.

“We have been working the past several weeks along with the Parks and Rec Department to get things under control down here as far as people going in the river,” said Sgt. Paul Kelhofer with Gwinnett Police. “We’ve kind of transitioned from the verbal warnings to some written warnings and written citations.”

Kelhofer saw the dangers of the water first hand when a young girl became stuck on a rock – trapped by the fast-flowing water.

“She was struggling through the current, just to get back to the shore,” said Kelhofer.

“Just to help an adult,” said Kelhofer. “Who I think had also gone in to try to get to the girl, but I think she was caught in the swift current as well.”

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So, he got ready to help.

“I was just stripping my gear off,” said Kelhofer.

Someone who knew the girl ended up rescuing the her, while Kelhofer pulled someone else out.

With signs posted asking people to stay out of the water, officers hope park visitors will choose to stay safe, in the final weeks of summer.

“For myself I wouldn’t even trust getting into that water but you can’t really tell people what to do,” park visitor Lahkeem Smith said.

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