Selfie stick saves a drowning girl’s life

The selfie stick, a social media gadget often ridiculed and banned from festivals, actually saved a girl’s life.

Sixteen-year-old Erynn Johns told the Boston Globe she was swimming with her family at Nobadeer Beach in Nantucket when she was caught up in riptide.  Suddenly Erynn found herself struggling to stay above water and swim to shore.

“Even being athletic, there was nothing I could have done,” she told the paper.

Fortunately the teen was swimming with at GoPro camcorder on a selfie stick.

Erynn’s father Derrick was able to grab it and drag his daughter closer to shore. A stranger, later identified as  Tommy Vach of Ocean City, Maryland, then rescued her from the waves.

The GoPro recorded the whole ordeal.

Before being swept up in the current, viewers can see Erynn securing the selfie stick to her arm. Soon Erynn and the camcorder are submerged in the riptide. She can be seen struggling to regain her composure for three terrifying minutes.

Her father grabs the selfie stick at the 2:38 mark.  Around the 4:55 mark another man, possibly Vach, comes to their aid. Finally at 5:30 Erynn walks ashore.

Maybe the selfie stick is good for more than duck-face portraits after all.

Can’t get enough of Campus Sports? Follow us on TwitterFacebook and Instagram to stay updated with the latest news and exclusive giveaways!

*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports

Jurassic World II set for release in June 2018
Jurassic World II set for release in June 2018