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When a giant lawn mower flipped over, trapping his boss in Oak Hollow Lake last year , High Point grounds keeper Aaron Ollis jumped into action.

He and Dennis Macomber, his supervisor, had been mowing at the Oak Hollow campground. Macomber was mowing on a steep hill when the mower flipped, propelling him into Oak Hollow Lake.

“I kept expecting Dennis to pop up,” Ollis said. “When he didn’t, I threw my Android cellphone on the ground thinking I might need it later to call for help. Then I jumped in the water to see what was holding him.”

He could feel Macomber beneath the murky water and tried to pull him out.

But Macomber was stuck.

Ollis went under the water to see what was holding Macomber but couldn’t see anything.

He grabbed the mower’s roll bar and started rocking it. Finally, with one last grab of the roll bar, the mower moved, and Macomber popped up.

Macomber seemed to be in shock and was having trouble breathing. He didn’t want to be touched.

Ollis retrieved his phone and called for help.

“I remember thinking, 'I am going to die in Oak Hollow Lake,’” Macomber recalled recently.

In honor of the rescue, Ollis was given a Hometown Heroes Award by Electri­Cities of N.C. on Aug. 26. He also received The Above and Beyond Award from the city of High Point in recognition of his services to the city.

Macomber said most of his memories of the event come from what others have told him.

He was taken to High Point Regional Hospital but transferred to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

“They were worried about the water in my lungs and infection,” Macomber said.

“When I woke up in the hospital, my wife of two months, Beth, was sitting there,” he said. “I looked at her and said, 'I am hungry.’ We were planning to leave on our vacation that afternoon. We were a few days late, but we did go.”

It took about six months for his breathing to return completely to normal. It was hard to take a deep breath.

“About two months after the accident, I felt like I was still tasting Oak Hollow Lake, but tests showed that everything was normal,” he said.

“The strange thing was, about two weeks before the accident, Aaron and I were on our way to a tailgate safety meeting, which is a meeting held in the field. I asked Aaron, 'What would you do if you saw a mower going into the lake?’”

Ollis jokingly said, “I would throw my cellphone on the ground before I dived in the water.

“That simple act is one of the things that saved my life,” Macomber said. “My cellphone and radio both got wet. Aaron was able to use his phone to call emergency personnel, and that is one of the things that saved my life. If he hadn’t been able to use that phone, he would have had to leave me alone when he went to get help.”

Macomber attributes his survival to his strong will and Ollis’ quick reaction.

“The earlier safety meeting we had in the car also was a factor,” he said. “It seems everything happens for a reason.”
Still, the rescue amazes him.

“Seeing the size of that mower, it is not possible for one person to lift it,” Macomber said. “Aaron told me later, he had tried to lift the mower several times and had nothing left when he felt the mower lift and I popped out.”

“I was quite relieved. It was pretty quiet the rest of the day,” Ollis said.

“At the end of the day everything turned out good,” Macomber said. “I felt like I had been given a second chance.
“I felt like an old football player who got a replay.”

Contact Kathy Johnson at mjohnson2@triad.rr.com