Latest news with #WestboroBeach
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Yahoo
River rescuer risked his life to pull boy, man to safety
David Hickey was enjoying an afternoon run along the shore of the Ottawa River on Wednesday when he noticed a commotion in the water near Westboro Beach. "I saw some splashing in the water. Then when I took one of my headphones out, I heard some screaming and there was a bunch of people gathering by the shore," Hickey, 32, told CBC on Thursday. Someone was in trouble about 20 metres from shore. Without pausing to consider his own safety, Hickey jumped into the water and swam out to help. By the time he reached the struggling swimmers — a younger man and a boy — they had both slipped under the surface. Hickey, a physiotherapist who describes himself as "not the strongest swimmer" despite taking a basic lifeguarding course as a kid, managed to grab hold of the boy and began paddling backward backward toward shore. Realizing the man was still in distress, Hickey told him to hang onto the child, then pulled them both to safety. That's when Hickey discovered there had been a third person in the water — the boy's father, 42-year-old Rowell Navarro. Navarro was eventually pulled from the water, but despite extensive resuscitation efforts he was later pronounced dead in hospital. The younger man, identified by police only as a "quick- thinking member of the public," had jumped into the river to save the father and son, and in doing so had nearly drowned himself. Paramedics told CBC they transported the 27-year-old man to hospital in stable condition. "Three of us came in, but the dad stayed in the water until the firefighters found him," Hickey said. "I think [Navarro] used all of his final energy to hand off his kid to the other guy, and he used all of his energy to keep them up until I was able to get out there and help them." Hickey and other bystanders waited with the boy until first responders arrived. The boy was transported to CHEO "as a precaution," paramedics said Wednesday. Hickey said the river is quite shallow in that area until a steep drop-off not far from shore. "That's where the current really gets messy, so you can walk right out and one step later you're kind of just floating. And that's where they got in trouble, I think," he said. On Thursday, passerby Kevin Power, who has lived nearby for 60 years, said the Ottawa River can be deceiving. "Getting out into these currents with the rapids and such, it can really throw you for a loop and shock you and surprise you, and perhaps that's what happened yesterday," Power said. Hickey said he remembered enough from his training to know it would have been dangerous to go back into the river to search for Navarro. "I'm happy I was able to help and make the situation better, obviously. I don't think there's anything much anyone else could have done to help the dad really at that time, I think he was too far gone," he said. Hickey said he has since exchanged a few text messages with Amanda Laflair, Navarro's wife and mother of eight-year-old William, the boy he helped save. "We just want to say thank you to everybody that reached out to us and offered their help and their condolences. It really means a lot to us at this time," Laflair told CBC in a telephone interview Thursday. "And we especially want to thank the bystander that risked their life to save my son."
CBC
04-07-2025
- CBC
River rescuer risked his life to pull boy, man to safety
Social Sharing David Hickey was enjoying an afternoon run along the shore of the Ottawa River on Wednesday when he noticed a commotion in the water near Westboro Beach. "I saw some splashing in the water. Then when I took one of my headphones out, I heard some screaming and there was a bunch of people gathering by the shore," Hickey, 32, told CBC on Thursday. Someone was in trouble about 20 metres from shore. Without pausing to consider his own safety, Hickey jumped into the water and swam out to help. By the time he reached the struggling swimmers — a younger man and a boy — they had both slipped under the surface. Hickey, a physiotherapist who describes himself as "not the strongest swimmer" despite taking a basic lifeguarding course as a kid, managed to grab hold of the boy and began paddling backward backward toward shore. Realizing the man was still in distress, Hickey told him to hang onto the child, then pulled them both to safety. That's when Hickey discovered there had been a third person in the water — the boy's father, 42-year-old Rowell Navarro. Navarro was eventually pulled from the water, but despite extensive resuscitation efforts he was later pronounced dead in hospital. Dad 'used all his final energy' The younger man, identified by police only as a "quick- thinking member of the public," had jumped into the river to save the father and son, and in doing so had nearly drowned himself. Paramedics told CBC they transported the 27-year-old man to hospital in stable condition. "Three of us came in, but the dad stayed in the water until the firefighters found him," Hickey said. "I think [Navarro] used all of his final energy to hand off his kid to the other guy, and he used all of his energy to keep them up until I was able to get out there and help them." Hickey and other bystanders waited with the boy until first responders arrived. The boy was transported to CHEO "as a precaution," paramedics said Wednesday. Hickey said the river is quite shallow in that area until a steep drop-off not far from shore. "That's where the current really gets messy, so you can walk right out and one step later you're kind of just floating. And that's where they got in trouble, I think," he said. On Thursday, passerby Kevin Power, who has lived nearby for 60 years, said the Ottawa River can be deceiving. "Getting out into these currents with the rapids and such, it can really throw you for a loop and shock you and surprise you, and perhaps that's what happened yesterday," Power said. Mother thanks rescuers Hickey said he remembered enough from his training to know it would have been dangerous to go back into the river to search for Navarro. "I'm happy I was able to help and make the situation better, obviously. I don't think there's anything much anyone else could have done to help the dad really at that time, I think he was too far gone," he said. Hickey said he has since exchanged a few text messages with Amanda Laflair, Navarro's wife and mother of eight-year-old William, the boy he helped save. "We just want to say thank you to everybody that reached out to us and offered their help and their condolences. It really means a lot to us at this time," Laflair told CBC in a telephone interview Thursday. "And we especially want to thank the bystander that risked their life to save my son."
CTV News
03-07-2025
- CTV News
Renewed focus on water safety after second drowning in Ottawa waterway this summer
A man drowned and his eight-year-old child was rescued from the Ottawa River near Westboro Beach on Wednesday. (Maddison de Varennes/CTV News Ottawa) The Lifesaving Society and Ottawa police are reminding people to stay safe around waterways, including swimming in designated areas and using a lifejacket, after the second drowning in an Ottawa river in two weeks. A man drowned and his eight-year-old child was rescued from the Ottawa River near Westboro Beach Wednesday afternoon. Police say they received a call at approximately 1:40 p.m. about a father and child who had gone underwater in the Ottawa River just down the pathway from the beach. Two bystanders were able to help rescue the child. 'On behalf of the entire police service and all the first responders who did respond to that call. We send our heartfelt condolences to the family affected by this tragedy,' said Sgt. Caroline Gallant with the Ottawa Police Service. 'Unfortunately, already this summer, we've had too many incidents on our waterways, so we're here to remind everybody to be safe, to stay in the designated swim areas where there are lifeguards. If you're not an avid swimmer, make sure you have the proper protection. Lifejackets do save lives.' A GoFundMe page believed to have been created by the victim's wife says he died trying to save their son and they were swimming away from Westboro Beach because they had their dog with them. Gallant said while two bystanders heard the calls for distress and responded to help rescue the child, you need to exercise caution when entering the water. 'In this situation the bystanders intervening definitely saved that young boy's life,' says Sgt. Gallant. 'The depth in the Ottawa River varies drastically. So, if you're not a strong swimmer, there is currents still in the water and you have to be able to self-rescue also.' The child was transported to CHEO in stable condition. This is the second drowning in two weeks in Ottawa. On June 16, an 18-year-old man drowned while swimming with friends in the Rideau River in Ottawa's south end. The Lifesaving Society says drowning is preventable, 'with layers of protection.' 'We really want to stress the importance of safety in and around the water,' Sean Duffy, vice-president of management training with the Lifesaving Society, told CTV News Ottawa. 'For children under the age of five, drowning is a leading cause of death and one of the best ways to prevent drowning in children is direct adult supervision. Assess your swimming ability and the environment that you're going to go swim in. The safest place to swim is to swim near a lifeguard.' Duffy urges people to swim in areas where lifeguards are on duty and in a designated swimming area. 'In the absence of lifeguard supervision, use layers of protection, wear a lifejacket,' Duffy said. 'Bring other equipment so that if someone gets in trouble, you can throw a floating object, like a ring buoy or a lifejacket to help support them.' With files from CTV News Ottawa's William Eltherington
CBC
03-07-2025
- CBC
Drowning victim was caring father, says grieving widow
Amanda Laflair knew something was wrong when her dog came bounding up the path behind her family's apartment building alone with no leash. The family pet had accompanied Laflair's husband Rowell Navarro and eight-year-old son William to a spot near Westboro Beach to go swimming Wednesday afternoon, another hot, humid day in Ottawa. "I texted and called my husband and there was no answer, and he wouldn't leave my dog unattended," Laflair told CBC in a telephone interview Thursday. Her fears were confirmed a short time later when Ottawa police officers knocked on her door and asked to come in. "And that's when they asked me to sit down and told me there had been a tragic accident," Laflair said. In a news release issued later Wednesday afternoon, Ottawa police said they were called to the Westboro Beach area around 1:40 p.m. "following reports that a father and child had gone underwater." According to police, a "quick-thinking member of the public" helped rescue the child, but the father drowned. The 42-year-old Navarro's body was located a short time later, and despite extensive resuscitation efforts he was pronounced dead at hospital. Married 16 years Laflair said she's still trying to piece together exactly what happened. "My husband and my son and my dog were swimming in the Ottawa River near Westboro Beach and my son went too deep and slipped on a rock and was going under water. And my husband tried to save him," she said. "[He] was able to get him above the water where somebody was able to jump into the water and bring William out and wait for the paramedics." She told CBC that her husband was a strong swimmer, but wasn't wearing a life-jacket at the time. Laflair said she and Navarro met when they were both living in Ottawa's shelter system. They married 16 years ago and built a life together, raising three children: Noah, 13, William, 8, and Rebecca, 5. Hold your loved ones close because you never know — things can change in the blink of an eye. - Amanda Laflair Laflair works as a personal support worker while Navarro stayed home with their children. She said he was an excellent father who loved taking his kids to the beach and the park to play. The day of the tragedy, she posted a heartfelt message in a neighbourhood Facebook group, thanking the bystanders who helped, the staff at CHEO who cared for William, and first responders. "im not ok my kids are not ok but im grateful so very grateful my son is alive and he is healthy," she wrote. "God bless you guardian angels for helping to save my baby." Grateful for support Numerous fundraisers have been launched to help the family, and Laflair said she's received many offers of help from community members. She said she's also heard from a woman who witnessed the incident — and who may have had a hand in saving her son — who's offered her ongoing support. She has been given four days of paid leave from work, and said family members will soon arrive to help her care for her children and cope with the loss of her husband. Among the immediate tasks they face is contacting the coroner and identifying Navarro's body. Laflair said she's extremely grateful for the offers of help she's received so far, many of them from strangers. "We just want to say thank you to everybody that reached out to us and offered their help and their condolences. It really means a lot to us at this time. And we especially want to thank the bystander that risked their life to save my son," Laflair said. She also offered this advice: "Hold your loved ones close because you never know — things can change in the blink of an eye."
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Father drowned, child rescued near Westboro Beach
A man drowned in the Ottawa River but his son was rescued by a passerby near Westboro Beach on Wednesday afternoon, police and paramedics said. Ottawa police said emergency responders were called to Westboro Beach around 1:40 p.m. "following reports that a father and child had gone underwater." According to police, a "quick-thinking member of the public was able to rescue the child." Ottawa paramedics transported the child to CHEO "as a precaution," police said in a news release. Paramedics said they also transported the 27-year-old rescuer to hospital in stable condition. "He got the eight-year-old boy out of the water," paramedic Paul Morneau said. Ottawa firefighters and members of the Ottawa police marine, dive and trails unit later located the father, but despite extensive resuscitation efforts he was pronounced dead at hospital, police said. "We also extend our gratitude to all those who responded to this emergency with professionalism and care," Ottawa police said. It's unclear where the man and child entered the water, Morneau added.
