Accident Database

Report ID# 4084

Help
  • Flush Drowning
  • Does not Apply
  • Other

Accident Description

The rescue was fast an efficient; the woman inhaled some water but recovered quickly.

Greenfield Recorder Woman airlifted to Baystate following rafting accident

By SHELBY ASHLINE Recorder Staff

Monday, September 05, 2016 Monroe MA MONROE — A 52-year-old woman was airlifted by LifeFlight to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield Sunday afternoon following a Zoar Outdoor rafting accident. The call for paramedics went out at around 2 p.m. The rafter was sucked underwater and was initially unconscious.

Rowe Police Chief Julie Shippee was the first to respond to the Trail Head Picnic Area on River Road, where the woman and her family had emerged from the water. “When I got there, they had her out of the water,” Shippee said. Because the woman’s family members had medical backgrounds, Shippee said the situation was under control, but the woman suffered from fluid in her lungs. The Monroe Volunteer Fire Department responded. The woman was transported in a North Adams ambulance to Hawlemont Regional Elementary School in Charlemont, where a LifeFlight helicopter was able to land at around 2:50 p.m. The helicopter took her to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. The Charlemont police and fire departments assisted to secure the landing area.

When contacted Sunday afternoon, Zoar Outdoor Co-Owner Karen Blom chose not to comment.

Join AW and support river stewardship nationwide!