Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Woman Saved by Rangers in River Rescue
On the evening of January 1st, K.H., 57, of Knoxville was
traveling north on Newfound Gap Road toward Gatlinburg when her vehicle
went out of control on the snow and ice covered road, plunged over a
steep embankment, and came to rest upside down into the West Prong of
the Little Pigeon River. K.H. was ejected from the vehicle and landed in
the frigid river. Air temperatures at the time were about 20 degrees,
water temperatures were about 45 degrees. Other motorists found K.H.
conscious and clinging to a large rock in the river approximately ten
yards downstream from the vehicle and called 911. Ranger Scott Kalna
arrived on scene first and put ICS into effect. Rangers Joe Pond and
Tony Welch arrived shortly thereafter and reached K.H. by wading across
the river in the knee-deep, freezing water. Several bystanders
accompanied them. They found K.H. to be in very serious condition,
suffering from hypothermia, a fractured tibia/fibula, fractured
clavicle, and head and neck injuries. She was also delirious, and began
yelling "Where's my baby?" Fearing that an infant had also been in the
car, rangers began a hasty search for the child. They soon determined,
however, that the "baby" was actually a small toy poodle. Ranger Michael
Nash established a technical litter raising system, which was used to
extricate K.H. up the steep river bank — a vertical distance of
about 20 feet. K.H. was transported to a helicopter landing zone in
Gatlinburg by Gatlinburg FD paramedics, then flown by medical helicopter
to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville. After the
vehicle was removed from the river, the poodle was found alive under the
car's rear seat.
[Submitted by Rick Brown, District Ranger]
Submission standards for the Morning Report can be found on the left side of the front page of InsideNPS. All reports should be submitted via email to Bill Halainen at Delaware Water Gap NRA, with a copy to your regional office and a copy to Dennis Burnett in Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO.
Prepared by the Division of Law Enforcement and Emergency Services, WASO, with the cooperation and support of Delaware Water Gap NRA.