The Associated Press

LAFAYETTE, Ohio - Paramedics rescued a 13-year-old boy and his 11-year-old friend who tried to save him after they were swept away by strong currents in a flooded creek.

Garrett Freeman decided to brave the rushing waters in an inner tube Tuesday on the Little Hog Creek in this northwest Ohio town when he was swept away.

The creek, normally about 6 inches deep, had swollen to several feet deep. Freeman managed to grab a tree branch and pull himself up, losing his inner tube in the water below.

Three of his friends watching from the bank tried to save him. Ollie Holtsberry also was carried away by the current while trying to rescue Garrett. He, too, grabbed a tree and struggled to hold on.

The other boys made it back to the bank and their cries for help alerted a neighbor who dialed 911.

When the Lafayette Fire Department and Allen County sheriff's deputies got to the scene, the force of the water flooding the road began pushing the firetruck.

As the truck retreated to safety, Lafayette paramedic Wes Hites found the boys clinging to trees about 300 yards downstream. The force of the rushing water was so strong, it had ripped the clothes off Ollie's body.

A firefighter threw Hites a rope, which he tied around his waist, and he made his way out to Ollie and brought him to shore.

Two firefighters in a boat grabbed Garrett.