Dominick was playing outside his house with his brother and sister, when he fell into a drainage ditch and disappeared from sight on Tuesday evening.
Responding to calls for help from Dominick's sister, who said she saw him fall into the water, neighbor Tom Huffman, 40, jumped into the ditch.
``I was on my knees and the water was up to my chest,'' he said Wednesday. ``Once I felt the suction of the pipe, I just happened to run (back down) the alley and flipped the lid up and there he was.''
Huffman said he could only see the top of Dominick's head after he lifted the heavy metal drain cover. When he reached down to grab the boy, the manhole cover slammed down on Huffman's head.
While the gash would later require five stitches, Huffman said he didn't notice he was hurt.
Huffman said it took all his strength to pull the boy out of the drain. But Dominick was crying when he was pulled out.
``I was tickled to death when I heard him do that,'' Huffman said.
The 3-foot-9, 45-pound second grader would need 25 stitches to close the various cuts on his head, but was otherwise fine.
Town crews spent Wednesday cementing a heavy grate into place over the drain pipe opening.
Monongah is about 20 miles southwest of Morgantown.
