A family of three was rafting commercially on the Lower James River on July 1st - a woman in her 60's, a man in his 70's and their grandson. The trip went smoothly until they reached Fishladder. Once in Fishladder, they went down the initial drop, started going left, and then hit a rock. The two older folks both swam out of the boat. The woman was pulled in quickly. The man's head went under the water only for a few seconds, then he was able to get pulled closer to the boat where he grabbed onto the outer safety line. It was a struggle to get him in the boat because of his size, but both the guide and a ride along were able to finally get him in.
Everyone was a little shaken up but catching their breath as they floated closer toward the pillars of the old bridge in front of the Manchester Bridge, and the man was seemingly having trouble breathing but was responsive at this time. The man began to signal toward his chest with labored words. After that, the man became unresponsive - little to no breath with faint pulse. 911 was called at this time. The guide, ride along, and wife of the man (who was a nurse practitioner) all took turns performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Guides and the wife of the man continued CPR until River Rescue arrived at the pillars. He was transported to the river rescue boat where he was then taken to 14th street steps to meet the med unit.
Once at 14th street, they were able to get him to the steps where EMS took over the scene. They transported the man to VCU Health where he later passed away. His wife contacted Riverside staff and advised that he had died at the hospital. She told us that she is at peace with what happened and appreciative to the guides involved knowing that they did everything they could have.
When a cardiovascular emergency happens - it is incredibly scary and the only thing you can really do at that moment is call 911, start performing CPR if they are unconscious, and get them medical attention as soon as possible - all of which was done. Let's do what we can to be respectful of the situation and the people involved and continue to safely navigate on this river knowing we have the proper training and support in place to handle situations that may arise on the water.
