Accident Database

Report ID# 4051

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  • Impact/Trauma
  • Head Injury / Concussion
  • One Boat Trip

Accident Description

3 to a kayak   strainer pin    head injury     PFD's worn    

Coronor says death from naural causes

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- A woman died after a kayak accident involving her sister and 10-year-old nephew in Floyds Fork at Broad Run Park on Wednesday. "The boy was in the boat, the mother was holding the sister above water," Fern Creek Fire Chief Michael Schmidt said. According to the Fern Creek Fire Chief, the three were sharing one kayak while paddling along Floyds Fork in Broad Run Park when they hit a submerged tree trunk and were thrown from the kayak.

"I just know that the 10-year-old boy was really brave. He did a great job staying on the phone with MetroSafe trying to give us site points that he was seeing to get us to them as quick as we could," Chief Schmidt said. Officials said all three were wearing life vests when they were thrown. They were able to get back to the boat and grab onto a tree. Officials said one victim was somehow injured when she fell out and knocked unconscious. "In 10 to 15 minutes, we had their location and then we're launching the boat down here and getting to them," Schmidt said.

Fern Creek and Jefferson County swift water teams responded and were able to get the people to land and to EMS.

The following statement is from The Parklands of Floyds Fork:

"The entire Parklands family is saddened by the tragic kayaking accident that occurred on Floyds Fork yesterday. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the woman who lost her life. Our park rangers worked closely with emergency responders yesterday evening and we continue to coordinate with them as the incident is being investigated. While the visitors involved in the accident did not rent their equipment from The Parklands’ vendor, the safety of park visitors is of utmost importance to us. Outdoor adventure sports, like paddling, carry inherent risks and we routinely review and update our safety recommendations. We will continue to work with emergency response teams on the investigation and encourage anyone participating in water sports on Kentucky streams to be familiar with water safety recommendations."

Female victim ID'd after kayak accident at Floyds Fork

June 16, 2016
 

A woman died Wednesday night at The Parklands of Floyds Fork after the kayak she was in with her sister and 10-year-old grandson capsized in swift waters, officials said.

The woman was identified Thursday as Sandra K. Mills, 55, from Shepherdsville. Coroners said she did not die of drowning, her cause of death resulted from natural causes. She was pronounced dead at 7:55 p.m. Wednesday at University of Louisville hospital.

Around 6:30 p.m., the Fern Creek Fire Department responded to a swift-water rescue about 300 yards away from the roadway in the tributary of Salt River, said fire department chief Mike Schmidt Jr. on Thursday morning. The nephew called 911 and was able to direct officials to their location.

The three were sharing a kayak when they hit an unidentified underwater object and flipped into the water, Schmidt said. All three were wearing life jackets and were able to hold on to both the kayak and a tree.

When rescuers arrived, they noticed that the woman suffered some type of injury, causing her to breathe heavily and cough up blood, he said. Her sister was holding her head above water.

After she was taken out of the water, she was transported by helicopter to the University of Louisville Hospital where she was pronounced dead, Schmidt said.

The Jefferson County's Coroner's Office said the woman's identity and the manner of death would be released pending notification of next of kin.

Schmidt said Thursday that the water was fast-moving because of storms throughout Kentucky. While kayakers think it makes the river exciting, he said, it makes it dangerous.

This was the first swift-water rescue in the area since the park opened in mid-April, he said.

Anna Rosales-Crone, spokeswoman for The Parklands of Floyds Park, issued the following statement Thursday morning:

The entire Parklands family is saddened by the tragic kayaking accident that occurred on Floyds Fork yesterday. We offer our deepest condolences to the family of the woman who lost her life.

Our park rangers worked closely with emergency responders yesterday evening and we continue to coordinate with them as the incident is being investigated.

While the visitors involved in the accident did not rent their equipment from The Parklands’ vendor, the safety of park visitors is of utmost importance to us. Outdoor adventure sports, like paddling, carry inherent risks and we routinely review and update our safety recommendations.

We will continue to work with emergency response teams on the investigation and encourage anyone participating in water sports on Kentucky streams to be familiar with water safety recommendations.

Rosales-Crone said the Broad Run Park, as well as the rest of The Parklands, is open Thursday. There are no closures to Floyds Fork that she is aware of.

Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.com.

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