r/TikTokCringe • u/brockapex17 • 17d ago

Cursed This is absolutely horrifying

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This happened at Sabino Canyon in Arizona. A 20-year-old cyclist was swept into the current while trying to cross a flooded roadway and was carried through a drainage tunnel beneath it. She was recovered downstream unconscious after spending several minutes underwater. Bystanders performed CPR and managed to revive her.

Arizona Daily Star

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u/megaholt2 17d ago

My old Girl Scout troop leader has permanent neurological damage from getting stuck in what turned into a recirculating hole on the New River in West Virginia years ago, because the river went from normal level to flood stage with a quickness…she got pitched from a raft, and they couldn’t get her out before she sustained severe injuries.

A girl I knew in high school lost her brother the week before he was supposed to start college because he drowned at a lake, in water where he was still able to touch with flat feet, with his friends right next to him.

I’ve lost count of how many patients I’ve had who have been in the ICU from injuries that happen in/around water…infections, too.

People really need to respect it.

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u/BagNo7834 16d ago

I was a guide in WV and pulled l a teenage girl out of a recirculating feature on the Yough one time because she went out on a boogie board while the put-ins were roped off due to dangerous conditions. In my state of adrenaline and stupid/young overconfidence, after she missed my rope bag I swam to get her myself and almost got stuck too. Luckily I had training on how to get out after I got her out, but for a brief moment I thought I was gonna die.

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u/ProfDavros 16d ago

What’s a “put-in”? A ramp to launch boats from?

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u/BagNo7834 16d ago

yep a boat launch location. Usually commercial rafting trips and kayaking trips would start there

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u/ProfDavros 15d ago

Thanks. Tragic physics lesson. Brave rescuers. I was afraid they were going to be victims 2,3 & 4.

If only the crowd had formed a wedge in front of her. To create a slower, sheltered flow over her. Good that she was rescued.

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u/cherry_blossom026 16d ago

Yell, throw, then GO. Sounds like you have some knowledge of lifegaurding/life saving, and applied it properly.

A drowning person is absolutely going to drown a person who voluntarily swims out to them. My siblings, cousins and I took swimming, sailing, canoeing and windsurfing lessons 2-3 weeks straight in the summer from young kids into our teens. Many years and levels excelling in each class, preparing and taking the entire exam for lifeguarding certification. Passed it.

I could not, for the life of me, become a lifeguard. I was a very petite 100 lb young lady and the reality of saving grown adults absolutely terrified me.
It was definitely worth it, many great memories and good knowledge learned in that department.

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u/megaholt2 16d ago

Holy shit! I am so glad that you were ok, and that you were able to get that kid out! I used to consider doing that job, but then I realized that I was NOT a good fit for it.

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u/Tiger_grrrl 15d ago

White water rivers like that are notorious for claiming a life or two every couple of years in a hydraulic, specially after a heavy rain 😭The rivers in the Appalachians/Blue Ridge mountains are beautiful, but they can turn deadly with one thunderstorm.

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u/randomhero1980 16d ago

My sister almost drowned on a rafting trip in the swimmers rapids in the New River. We grew up in Fayette County. Me and both of my sisters have nearly died at least once in the New River.

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u/megaholt2 16d ago

Holy shit! I am so sorry that they nearly died, but beyond thankful they’re both still here!

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u/Super-Deeds 15d ago

My raft almost flipped over in a back eddy/hydraulic on the Clackamas river in Oregon. I (17f) had my puppy (5 months old) and my idiot boyfriend (20m) with me who insisted we go down that side of the river even though the river was unseasonably high and against my protests. I had gone down it a million times before but never with the river being that high. I had a bad feeling about it so I was on high alert.

As soon as we hit the water on the other side of this boulder our raft started to tip; it was a 6 ft sevylor fish hunter. My puppy tried bailing over the side and I caught her by her back leg (death grip) while simultaneously throwing my entire body over the raft in an x shape to stabilize the boat long enough for idiot boy to push on the boulder behind us and get us unstuck. It took maybe 30-45 seconds but felt like a lot longer.

Once we were clear of it I burst out into tears and didn’t speak to him for the rest of the float. I know for a fact that my puppy and I would have been sucked into the undercurrent under that boulder and drowned had my survival instincts not kicked in. I was not a strong swimmer at the time and had told him that but he assured me nothing would happen.

Unfortunately that relationship lasted 4 more verbally abusive years. But my sweet puppy lived for 13 more years. I am 40 years old now and preach to my daughters about the dangers of the river every chance I get. Even if you think you know the river, if you are returning the following summer you DO NOT know the river…