Wife thanks officers for saving husband’s life

Published: Updated:

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- A man who was trapped beneath his own lawn mower underwater is making an incredible recovery.

Friday, 54-year-old James Bates’ wife had the opportunity to thank the officers credited with saving his life.

It was at the edge of a Cape Coral canal where Dolly Bates thought she had lost the love of her life in a freak accident.

The couple just started a lawn service company when the mower trapped Bates’ husband under the water.

He is now recovering thanks to the quick response of Cape Coral police officers. Dolly Bates breathed a sigh of relief as she hugged the men who helped save her husband’s life.

“They just jumped right in the water,” she said. She knows the outcome of the accident could have been much different. “They pulled him up and he was blue. And I was like, ‘he’s got to make it. He can’t leave me now.'”

Officer Thomas Wagner and his partner pulled up to the scene. Knowing they had limited time, they say their adrenaline was pumping.

“We looked down,” said Wagner, “didn’t see him left of the mower, didn’t see him right of the mower.”

They lifted the mower, estimated to be 1,4oo pounds, to get to Bates.

“It was like a real slimy muck,” said Wagner, describing the bottom of the canal. “But it was also sinking, so the more I would pull, my feet were sliding away from me.”

Dolly Bates calls her husband’s quick swift recovery a miracle. The couple’s lawn mower is still in the shop. Once they can pay off the repair bill, it’ll be back to work as usual.

Copyright ©2024 Fort Myers Broadcasting. All rights reserved.

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without prior written consent.