COLUMBUS, Ohio – An overflowing creek in a Cleveland suburb sent a 14-year-old boy on the ride of his life this week.

Jeffrey LaPorta traveled more than a quarter of a mile through multiple storm sewer pipes, at times completely submerged water, before finding enough breathing room to await rescue. He was eventually pulled out of the sewer in less than an hour, with only scrapes and bruises.

The teen was riding his bike with a friend on Tuesday through puddles created by the rising creek, which flows near a strip mall parking lot in Parma. He fell into the overflowing water just off the edge of the parking lot and was forced into a drain pipe – roughly 2 feet in diameter, authorities said.