| River: | Cranberry |
| Section: | AC (Lower): Big Rock Camping Area to Gauley River |
| Location: | Cranberry Split |
| Relevant Photos: | 14310 14309 |
| Gauge: | 3.8 feet |
| Water Level: | Medium |
| Difficulty: | III |
| Accident Code(s): | Swim Into Undercut Trap |
| Injury Code(s): | Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal |
| Age: | 62 |
| Experienced/Inexperienced: | Experienced |
| Years Paddling: | >10 |
| Private/Commercial: | Private |
| Boat Type: | Kayak - Other |
| Boat Manufacturer: | Wavesport |
| Boat Model: | Diesel |
| Number of Occupants: | 1 |
| Number in Group: | 8 |
| Number of Victims: | 1 |
| Hazard Codes: | Natural Strainer or Sieve |
| Initial Report: | TEXT ATTACHMENTS http://www.register-herald.com/local/local_story_114221449.html Text of the Newspaper Article ----------------------------- Jackson teacher drowns while kayaking Michelle James Register-Herald Reporter A 62-year-old Jackson County school teacher drowned Sunday afternoon while kayaking on the Cranberry River near Richwood in Nicholas County. Cpl. Wayne Young with the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources said Sarah ?Sally? Naas of Ravenswood was floating alongside her boat when she hit an undercut or ?pillowed? rock and was pulled under, where she was trapped for about 10 minutes. At the time of the accident, Young said, Naas, an experienced kayaker, was participating in an outing with a kayaking club to which she belonged. Young said other club members pulled Naas out from under the rock and performed CPR but were unable to revive her. The Cranberry River, which feeds into the Gauley, is in a remote area and, because of the location of the accident, Young said it was an hour and a half before emergency crews were able to get to the scene and transport Naas to Summersville Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Young said the Cranberry River is a popular kayaking spot during the spring, especially after significant rainfall. Naas? death is the first kayaking death on the Cranberry, which is well known for trout fishing, in more than 15 years, according to Young. |
| Detailed Description: | Non-Witness Narrative by Charles Brabec on 2006-04-25 (okay to publish): A group of 8 kayakers were paddling the Lower Cranberry on Sunday, April 23. About 2 PM, the group eddied out above Cranberry Split Rapids (class 3). This rapid is about 2 miles above the confluence with the Gauley River and the only access is via an old, overgrown logging road. We talked about the rapid and how to run it. The plan was to run the first river wide ledge (about a 2 foot drop), paddle into the left eddy and get out on the island to scout the meat of the rapid. The first kayaker stayed in his kayak in the eddy by the island. One kayaker flipped at the bottom of the drop, missed his roll, and came out of his boat. A member of the group that was already on the island threw him a rope and was pulling him to shore when Sally ran the drop. She flipped and rolled, hesitated just a bit before starting to paddle, and was pulled back into the pour over hole. She side surfed for a few seconds, then flipped and exited her kayak. She was facing upstream, holding her paddle in one hand and swimming with the other. When the water got rough, she let go of her paddle. She hit the middle of the pillowed rock and was pushed upward on the pillow. She then slid to the right along the face of the rock and into the crease on the right side of the rock. The paddler who was still in his kayak did not see her disappear so he ran the rapid to collect her and her gear in the pool below. One paddler who was on the island tried throwing a rope into the crevice where she disappeared. Sally floated to the surface below the rock about 5-10 minutes later, face down. The rest of the group quickly scrambled into their boats and ran the sneak to get to the bottom quickly and help with the rescue. We got her to shore and three members of the group started CPR, working in rotation with one resting while the other two kept up compressions and breathing. After about 10 minutes and no response, two of our experienced paddlers paddled downstream 4 miles to the takeout as quickly as they could and called 911, struggled with trying to tell rescue personnel where Sally was and how to get to her. Another member of the group ran down the old logging road to the confluence of the Cranberry and Gauley and down the rails-to trails road to the confluence of the Cherry and Gauley. Then he swam across the Cherry and met the two people who had paddled out to call 911. The runner and one of the paddlers drove one of our takeout vehicles to the Holcomb Bridge. This was the point where there was a gated access to the rails-to-trails road. Meanwhile, the Rescue Squad got the key to the gate of the rails-to-trails road at Holcomb Bridge. The two paddlers were then able to lead rescue personnel to the scene of the accident. The three people at the scene continued CPR until the Rescue Squad arrived and took over. By then it was shortly after 4 PM. They were surprised to see that we were so calm and focused on the task, and even more surprised that we had been doing effective CPR after almost 2 hours. The Paramedic pronounced her dead at the scene. She was carried down the old railroad grade to an ambulance at the confluence with the Gauley. After retrieving our putin vehicles, two of us stopped at home (about 8 miles east of Summersville). We called Sally's husband to tell him what happened. We also got in touch with some good friends of his that lived nearby (Ravenswood, WV). They drove him to Summersville Memorial Hospital. After taking care of the phone calls, two of us went to Summersville Memorial Hospital. We got there a bit after 9 pm. We talked with the County Medical Examiner while waiting for Sally?s husband to arrive. The Medical Examiner told us that the official cause of death is being listed as a "witnessed drowning". He also told us that Sally had a bruise on her chin. He believes that Sally hit a rock with her chin and that caused her to become unconscious. He thinks that she was then thrown around in an undercut cavity or a slot between the rocks. She was missing her left shoe and had bruises and abrasions on her left leg. The boaters have speculated that she may have had a foot entrapment after sliding off the pillowed rock. She had a basal skull fracture and her C1, C2 and C3 vertebrae were damaged. There was separation between her C1 and her skull. She suffered no pain. She had passed before she came out from under the water. She could not have caught a rope and no amount of CPR could have done any good. The Rescue personnel, Paramedic and Medical Examiner all told us how we all went far beyond the call of duty in trying to save her life. Sally's husband and his friends arrived at the hospital around 11:30. Her husband was able to see Sally and say good-by. Sally Naas was a 62 year old school teacher in Jackson County, WV. She was an intermediate paddler. She had taken several paddling and rescue clinics, two of them in 2005. She was conservative in her paddling and she had all the necessary skills and knowledge. She also had run the Lower Cranberry several times with us and others. |
| Report Status: | Completed |