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Apr 1, 2009 3:55 pm US/Central
Teen Recounts Losing Boyfriend To Stormy Waters
Marianne Martinez
COLLIN COUNTY (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
It started as a leisurely evening on the lake for 16-year-old Kimberly Clayton and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Michael Simmons.
Around 7:30 Monday night, they pushed their paddle boat onto Lake Lavon, which is behind Kimberly's home.
The wind started pushing them farther away from shore.
"The wind was blowing hard and it was dark outside," she said. "The water kept getting into the paddle boat,"
The little boat started to sink, and they decided to jump out. Neither of them had on life jackets.
"He tried to hold onto me, but I knew we were both going to drown if he did," she said. "I told him to let go, and I told him we had to swim to the paddle boat. I swam about 10 or 15 feet to the paddle boat, and I thought he was behind me until I turned around and he wasn't."
Kimberly tried to drag the boat to where Michael was, but couldn't fight the waves.
"I was screaming and screaming for him. And he was yelling back and after a few minutes, he stopped."
Kimberly began swimming to shore, still clinging to the boat. She swam almost a mile in 60-degree water.
She spent about two hours in the water, before making it to shore to get help.
"The only thing I could think of is, 'I didn't want to die.' I just couldn't. I'm only 16 -- I couldn't die there," she said.
Michael was nowhere to be seen. Rescue crews scanned the area for him Monday night and started searching on boats Tuesday. They resumed their search Wednesday morning.
Now, Kimberly says she can't think about getting back near a lake, and hopes others learn from what happened to her.
"I wish I hadn't gone out that day."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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