worse story ever.... well. Six teens drown in Shreveport's Red River

[seabeyond]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/08/02/louisiana.river.drowning/index.html?hpt=T2

At some point he slipped into deep water and started to drown.

So six more teens went to his rescue

*

Shreveport, Louisiana, Fire Chief Brian Crawford said as soon as the first teen was in trouble, the others instinctively rushed to help.

"Whether you can't swim or don't swim ... you're just gonna go and do what you think you have to do," he said.

The parents stood helpless on the shore and watched as their children struggled and eventually slipped under the water. The adults could not swim either.

"Imagine watching your child drown and not being able to do anything," Crawford said.


_________________________


i heard this on npr just now and a horrible story. one kid goes under, can't swim. so the others that can't swim went after him, to save him. regardless of not being able to swim, they couldn't watch him drown.

horrible story.

[eleny]

1. I heard about this on the radio, earlier

Evidently, there's a drop off where the depth goes to 20' all of a sudden.

Yes, horrible.

[WinkyDink]

2. This is horrible to the max. BUT: teens went to help each other, regardless, and their PARENTS stood

by?

[seabeyond]

4. ya. i didnt hear about the parents standing there until i read the cnn story

i am swimmer, lifeguard, water safety instructor. all of who i have been in the past knows this situation. i cannot imagine the kids going in knowing they can't swim.

[stray cat]

5. Teens were siblings of each other from two families

its not clear if the parents from each of the two families were there or if other family members and children were with the parents

[Jennicut]

7. The parents did not know how to swim either. The problem is when the parents and the teens don't

know how to swim and get caught in strong currents in the river and the depth increases fast, it can be very dangerous for everyone involved. I grew up swimming along a lake where my grandmother lives in CT. I swam across the lake to the other side when I was 13. But that is summer after summer of lots of experience. These kids and adults had no idea and in a river with strong currents, well, tragedy can happen. The parents would have drown themselves. The real issue is that many African-Americans do not know how to swim or swim well enough. It really is sad but my best friend in college grew up in the city and was black could not swim either. He was terrified of water by the age of 20. An interesting article from 2008 on it: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24411271/. 60% of black children cannot swim. Per the article it has to do culturally with the lack of access to good swimming facilities and then the lack of knowledge passed onto each generation.

[KansasVoter]

3. Shit like this is why I am an atheist! Among millions of much worse things!

[DeadEyeDyck]

9. it is sad but it does show the human nature where ...

people value each other. I am not sure where your Atheism plays into this? Are you saying that you would not try to save those that you loved?

[KansasVoter]

11. No, I am saying no loving god would allow this to happen. Or millions of worse things.

[grasswire]

6. I guess the moral of the story is...

...that if you have a bunch of non-swimming kids in a river, you'd better goddam have a designated adult watcher with an inner tube and a rope attached, and some flotation belts or foam worms or something. What were they thinking?

[northernlights]

8. I cannot imagine...

standing by and watching. I feel sorry for the kids, but for their parents it's hard to drum up a lot of sympathy. There are many ways to cool off without risking your life if you don't know how to swim. And I have risked my life twice that I can think of to save another -- once a runaway toddler heading out in front of an oncoming car and the second time my puppy under attack by my young horse -- because I could not live with myself otherwise.

Maybe I'm different somehow from other people, but I cannot imagine how parents could stand there and watch without doing something. There is something wrong with people today. The toddler I saved -- she was out of reach of her mother, but people were passing right by within inches and did nothing, so I ran across the street because although the driver couldn't see the tiny toddler below the height of her hood, I knew she would likely see me. In the last instant I jumped to the side. It was so close a call that her car came to a stop just touching my shoulder bag, just a couple inches from my hip. It wasn't an instinctive response. It was a calculated risk and I knew I could be hurt or killed, but I could also feel her mother's silent scream in my own throat. I watched one person after another pass by without helping. I could not simply stand there and watch the toddler get run down so I chose to take that risk.

How in hell could those parents just watch and not risk their own lives to try to save their own children? Hell, I wanted children and life never gave me the chance. I nearly got my face kicked in saving my puppy, closest thing to my child. I nearly got run down saving another person's child. So how the hell could those parents just stand there?

And why the hell weren't they all more careful in general? It's not like this was an unknown risk...

"Police officers have spent time this summer issuing tickets, warnings and even creating barriers in an effort to keep people away from the swift Red River in Shreveport. The area is a popular spot for boaters who tie up and barbecue. But it can be a death trap for someone without a life jacket who can't swim.

"What is ironic is the Shreveport Police Department through July worked a series of enforcements to discourage people from parking and accessing that part of the river," said Glover, adding that the city does not allow recreational activities, including swimming along the banks of the river. Only boaters are allowed."

I just don't get people. :(

[sixmile]

10. From the article

...'children from nonswimming households are eight times more likely to be at risk of drowning.'