Fort Campbell soldier rescues autistic boy from river

By Nicole June

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A Clarksville mother wants to publicly honor and thank a Fort Campbell soldier who saved her son from drowning this week.

Martie Weeks said she and her 17-year-old son Ronnie, who has autism, were rafting down the Red River near Billy Dunlop Park Sunday when an unexpected current pulled Ronnie about 20 or 30 feet away from her.

Weeks said she and her son has been separated from the rest of of the group but the water wasn’t very deep. However, the current was strong and the rocks were slippery so she was unable to get to Ronnie, who had fallen while trying to get out of the water.

At that point, Weeks saw that Ronnie was face down in the water and turning purple.

“I could not reach my son,” Weeks said. “I was screaming for somebody to help, screaming for him to stand up.”

She said she could see and hear people in the distance, but they were too far away to make anything out.

Finally, a man who was on the shore realized that Ronnie was in trouble and jumped into the water to help. He struggled to pull the teen out of the current while Weeks watched, unable to move in that direction to help.

Eventually, Weeks’ oldest son and his friend (both of whom are also soldiers at Fort Campbell) caught up with them and were able to help get Ronnie out of the water.

The man who saved Ronnie from drowning was identified as Sergeant First Class Timothy Hansen (Weeks said he was recently promoted).

After the rescue, the group soon realized the only way to get back to the park from that spot would be to go back down the river. Ronnie was shaken and was afraid to get back in the water, so Hansen offered him his raft and held onto it while they floated back to the park. Weeks said he walked down the river with them until they got past the rapids so that Ronnie would feel safe.

After everyone was safely ashore, Ronnie would not stop hugging Hansen and thanking him for saving his life.

“He (Hansen) was so humble. I told him he was a hero and he said he didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t do,” Weeks said. “He’s a hero and deserves to be recognized. I felt like ‘thank you’ was just not enough for such a heroic act.”

The family has connected with Hansen on Facebook and hopes to keep in touch. Weeks’ aim now is to share Timothy and Ronnie’s story to inspire kindness and courage in others.