WAYNE -- A Winthrop man escaped serious injury Monday when he was swept over the North Wayne Dam and fell to the rocks below.

Shawn Lawson, 25, was taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, where he was treated and released, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Lawson and a friend were swimming near the dam around 3 p.m. Wednesday when both began to drift toward the dam, said Andy Molloy, a staff photographer with the Kennebec Journal who had been photographing the men swimming prior to the accident.

The swimming area near the dam, which is for residents only, is typically very safe, Wayne Assistant Fire Chief Brian Roche said. But recent rain storms have made the area much more volatile.

"The water's running real strong," Roche said. "When water's running that hard, it's not safe. It's like Niagara coming over there."

Molloy tried to warn the men to get out of the water. Lawson's friend, who was not identified, was able to swim to shore, but Lawson was pulled toward the dam.

Lawson was able to briefly stop his fall by holding onto a metal control wheel at the top of the falls, but then fell approximately 15 feet to the rocks below.

"He just simply went over the falls," Roche said.

Lawson was submerged up to his shoulders, but was able to keep his head above water holding onto branches at the base of the dam, Molloy said.

Molloy, who has worked as a first responder in the past, and two other unidentified men who had been working nearby were able to pull Lawson to the shore and hold him above water until rescuers arrived.

"Andy (Molloy) went into the water and dragged him to the edge," Roche said. "He was the man who saved (Lawson) from going under permanently."

Lawson was being held in the water at the base of a steep bank. Wayne firefighters and Winthrop Ambulance Service crews were able to place Lawson on a backboard at the water's edge to safely get him up the hill, Roche said.

"It did require a lot of help from a lot of people to carry him up the bank," he said. "It was a steep bank."

"We don't have a lot of equipment on the truck for a low-angle rescue," added Steve Baxter, a paramedic with Winthrop Ambulance.

Lawson suffered what appeared to be a leg injury from falling onto the rocks, but the outcome could have been worse, Roche said.

"Despite the problems we had, it worked very smoothly," he said. "Because of the training of the fire department and the training of the ambulance service it went off without a hitch."

Craig Crosby--623-3811, ext. 433

ccrosby@centralmaine.com