Mom separated from family when her kayak flips, throwing her into river, CA cops say
A family outing on a California river went awry when the mother’s kayak struck “a partially submerged tree,” throwing her into the swift-moving water, deputies say.
The family of four — a mother, father and two teenage children — was kayaking down the Sacramento River the morning of Saturday, July 6, with the intent of reaching Bonnyview Boat Ramp, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
As the family entered a side channel, the mother’s kayak hit “a partially submerged tree,” causing it to flip, deputies said.
The woman was thrown from the kayak and into the water, according to deputies. She then got “caught in a tree snag along the riverbank,” which forced her under water.
Her family was separated from her “as they continued downstream,” the sheriff’s office said.
Soon after, the husband called 911, deputies said.
The sheriff’s office, along with multiple agencies, arrived to find the man and two teenagers “along the riverbank.”
Deputies said they took the man back to where he last saw his wife in the water.
About 25 minutes later, the wife was found unharmed “under heavy vegetation along the shore of the river,” according to deputies.
She told deputies she made it to shore “after going under water for a brief time.”
The woman was “wearing a properly fitted life jacket rated for kayaking in swift-water environments, which ultimately saved her life,” according to deputies.
Shasta County is about a 200-mile drive north from Sacramento.
