'The river grabbed me and pulled me under': Edmonton paddle boarder shares near-death experience
'The river grabbed me and pulled me under': Edmonton paddle boarder shares near-death experience
Lindsay Cholod ventured out onto the North Saskatchewan River last weekend for her first paddle of the season but it was almost her last.
"There were no signs of any danger," she said. "Seemed like a normal day on the river."
She set out from Fort Edmonton on Saturday but when she reached the corner to Dawson Park, Cholod said the river quickly changed.
"It got faster, there was more debris in the river," she said.
As she got closer to a dock she noticed it was damaged by the river’s current and was partially submerged.
"I hit the dock, the river grabbed me and pulled me under," said Cholod. "It took me under and dragged me in the undercurrent all the way down."
Dock on North Saskatchewan River
Cholod said she frantically tried to get her head above water.
"I couldn’t because the dock was on top of me. Once I passed the dock then all the boats were on top of me and the last two breaths I took were full of water and it was on that second breath of water where I was like, 'omg I’m not going to make it out of this," she said.
Somehow she managed to get herself out of the situation.
"You’re able to swim, I don’t know how. I had no air in my lungs, I had no energy, but your body just powers through."
BE WATER SAFE
"You have to ask yourself, can you self-rescue?" said Bruce McWhinnie, Chief of Special Operations with Edmonton Fire Rescue Services.
"By self-rescue I mean if there happened to be an incident where you separated from the device that you’re on, do you have the ability to get back on it or get back to shore? If you can’t self-rescue, my recommendation is that you stay off the swift water environment."
So far this year EFRS has responded to 42 water rescues. There were 138 last summer including animal rescues, up from 104 during the summer of 2020.
"Last summer City Park Rangers and the Edmonton Police Marine Unit performed more than 5,500 safety compliance checks," said Zain Haji, a City of Edmonton Park Ranger.
He added that nearly half of the boaters checked were not in compliance with boating regulations.
Boaters are required to have, at minimum, a personal floatation device or life jacket for each person on board, a throw bag, whistle or sound signaling device and a watertight flashlight when traveling in low light conditions.
"This applies to all boaters including those using inflatables such as dinghies, air mattresses, floating islands and tubes," said Haji.
Constable Derek Jones with the Edmonton Police Marine Unit urges water users to wear a life jacket, especially paddle boarders.
"If it’s not on and it’s with your paddle board and you get separated from your paddle board you might be swimming after it and you might not get your paddle board and find yourself in a situation you don’t want to be in," he said.
"Wearing that life jacket will keep you afloat in the calm water up top because with a moving body of water like this there’s some turbulence underneath that you’re not seeing. So it looks calm right now and flat but underneath there’s water in motion and rocks and changing elevations underneath that we don’t see," said Jones.
Cholod is an experienced paddle boarder and admits she was overconfident that day on the water.
"And when you’re too confident you become complacent," she said.
"I’m just very, very lucky. I’m super grateful that I’m still here able to talk about it."
She also wants to connect with two women she encountered on shore after her near-drowning.
Cholod doesn’t remember who they were but said they drove her home and made sure she was okay.
American actor Anne Heche will be taken of life support on Sunday, nine days after suffering severe injuries in a fiery car crash, as a compatible person was found to receive her donated organs, a spokesperson said.
FBI testing of the gun used in the fatal shooting on the movie set of 'Rust' found that the weapon handled by actor Alec Baldwin could not be fired without pulling the trigger while the gun was cocked, according to a newly released forensics report.
About 4,000 beagles are looking for homes after animal rescue organizations started removing them from a Virginia facility that bred them to be sold to laboratories for drug experiments.
Republicans stepped up calls on Sunday for the release of an FBI affidavit showing the underlying justification for its seizure of documents at former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago home.
A new study is offering a dire prediction for the U.S. state of California, where scientists say catastrophic flooding could become twice as likely in the future due to the effects of climate change.
Authorities in Norway said Sunday they have euthanized a walrus that had drawn crowds of spectators in the Oslo Fjord after concluding that it posed a risk to humans.
Pennsylvania state police say a man who was upset about an argument with his mother drove through a crowd at a fundraiser for victims of a recent deadly house fire, killing one person at the event and injuring 17 others, then returned home and beat his mother to death.
A new study suggests that Antarctica’s ice shelves may be melting faster than previously believed, which is causing sea levels to rise at a more rapid pace and accelerating the dangers of climate change.
Jason Kenney and United Conservative Party leadership hopeful Danielle Smith traded words about her proposed sovereignty act this weekend, with Smith saying the premier should not interfere in the contest.
Roughriders quarterback Cody Fajardo scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and one through the air as the Riders snapped a three game losing skid Saturday night with a 34-23 win in Edmonton.
It’s rare to have a large scale aircraft touch down in Saskatchewan. Last month, a Boeing 787 brought 230 displaced Ukrainians from Warsaw to Regina. It took extensive planning to accommodate the plane.
Hundreds of Ukrainian immigrants have arrived in Saskatchewan over the last several months. For many of the new arrivals, emigrating from their home country was a decision that was quickly made.
A diving accident at 14-years-old left Brian Parker paralyzed from the chest down. Now at age 49, he's without the person who was caring for him full-time until just last week, after his 68-year-old mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
The German government on Friday issued a statement confirming the agreement will be signed Aug. 23 in Stephenville, where a Newfoundland based company plans to build a zero-emission plant that will use wind energy to produce hydrogen for export.
The cost of renting a home in Ontario rose more than almost every other province in Canada last month, according to a new national analysis of online listings.
As the CNE readies to open this Friday, one Toronto MPP is expressing concerns about safety possibly being compromised at the 18-day fair due to ride and equipment inspectors being on strike.
Candidates in more than a dozen councillor and school trustee races in Toronto could be formally elected in a week’s time, unless some last-minute challengers step forward.
Quebec's new language law has dozens of municipalities in the province shoring up their bilingual status, with few considering giving up the right to serve their citizens in both English and French.
Voters interested in the Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) may be disappointed by its platform, announced Sunday in Drummondville, as it is silent on many issues and vague on many others.
A five-kilometre section of the Queensway is expected to reopen in time for the Monday morning commute, after the busy highway was closed over the weekend for construction.
A string of pickup truck thefts using relay and reprogramming technology, a crash at a busy Kitchener roundabout, and a big golf shot for a big price round out the top stories of the week.
It was a sea of people wearing green and white at the James Jerome Sports Complex Sunday morning as Sudburians gathered to mark Pakistan Independence Day. This is the 75th anniversary of the country's independence from British colonial rule.
The Flour Mill Community Farm’s 6th annual Open Farm is an opportunity for the community to tour the space, sample some of the farm’s produce and enjoy local musical entertainment live.
Three people were rescued and dozens more have been displaced after a third-alarm blaze at a Burnaby apartment complex in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the fire department.
A B.C. girl is making her voice acting debut in a new animated Netflix series, saying she's excited that they chose her to bring the spunky, South Asian lead to life.
Orca sightings on Vancouver Island aren't rare, but they're always thrilling, and that was especially true for a group of aquaculture workers on the North Island this week.
Dock on North Saskatchewan River
