survive the 50-foot fall. but no one knows if he can swim. >> garrett said to me, the guy's going to knock himself out and he's going to fall. a minute later he said i might be going swimming today. >> and then nearly 25 minutes into the ordeal, matthew buford jumps. >> there he goes. >> oh! >> what y'all going to do? >> okay. he can swim. >> after he jumped into the river, he started treading water for a while. >> swim! >> and at this time, i'm thinking, okay, where's the rescue unit at? >> no matter what buford was thinking when he jumped, now in the water he seems to be fighting for his life and looks like a man who needs help. >> dude ain't doing good. >> authorities on the bridge toss down a lifeline, but it doesn't come close. you can see it off to the right. >> must have a hundred boats out there. >> by this time buford has been struggling for almost go minutes in the middle of a 500-foot-wide river. >> come on, man. >> matthew buford is losing strength. for the first time his head slips under the water. there seems to be no official