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- SKINNERS FALLS -- Two young women injured their legs in separate canoeing accidents at Skinners Falls on May 23, according to National Park Service (NPS) north district ranger Ted Waddell.
- Stephanie DeSalvo, 22, of Brooklyn, a student at Cornell University, capsized her canoe as she was entering the rapids, Waddell said. The current swept her under two previously pinned boats, where she was underwater for about five seconds, and caught her leg on a submerged crossbar, stated Cliff West, one of several National Canoe Safety Patrol (NCSP) members who was present.
- Mter she was brought ashore by NCSP commodore Richard Rhodes, patrol member Hal Hughes said that, with volunteer Jackie Pletcher, he administered first aid to the patient. She was then transported to Wayne Memorial Hospital in Honesdale by the Damascus Ambulance Corps.
- DeSalvo received surgery to correct "substantial damage" to her right leg and ankle, according to Waddell.
- Within an hour, another accident happened. Maureen Meher, 19, of Farmingdale, NY dumped her canoe on the last set of ledges at the rapids known as "the fortress," and was pinned against the rocks by an oncoming canoe.
- "It was the boat that did all the damage. You could still see the outline of the [canoe's] rib on her leg. She had a large piece of skin missing where you could see the muscles working underneath," Hughes recalled.
- Meher was also helped from the water by Rhodes. She was transported to Grover Hermann Hospital in Callicoon in an NPS vehicle by Waddell, where she was treated for contusions and released.
- Other river-related accidents over the Memorial Day weekend were relatively minor, including about a dozen hytx~ thermia and laceration cases, according to Rhodes.
- NCSP is a volunteer group, working through the NPS "Volunteers In Parks" program to encourage safety on the Upper Delaware.
Related external links
- Upper Delaware Scenic & Recreational River
- Stephanie DeSalvo, 22, of Brooklyn, a student at Cornell University, capsized her canoe as she was entering the rapids, Waddell said. The current swept her under two previously pinned boats, where she was underwater for about five seconds, and caught her leg on a submerged crossbar, stated Cliff West, one of several National Canoe Safety Patrol (NCSP) members who was present.
Thursday, August 6, 1987.
Two injured at Skinners Falls
By TOM RUE