Brave mum dies rescuing 2yo son
Chelsey Russell was enjoying a pleasant day out on a family boat trip when she heard a scream and a splash.
Her two-year-old son had slipped off their houseboat and into the waters of Lake Powell, earlier this week.
The 35-year-old mother of two from Lakewood, Colorado, jumped in to rescue the boy.
For five agonising minutes, she fought to keep her toddler above water until a relative pulled him onto the boat.
But by that unconscious.
She was pulled from the water and rushed to shore, where bystanders and officials performed CPR.
After about 30 determined they Russell.
Officials said the boy was in a stable condition and flown to a hospital about 322km away in point, Russell minutes, couldn’t was they save Flagstaff, Arizona. The houseboat had been travelling about 13kmh towards shore when the boy, playing with another child, somehow lost his balance, police said.
After Russell jumped in, her brother stopped the boat and hopped in after his sister, leaving Russell’s mother and at least one other child aboard.
The boat had kept moving after Russell went in and the man realised he was too far away from her and the child, San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge said. So he returned to the vessel to retrieve a motorboat they had been towing. The knots tethering it were so tight that he had to cut them with a knife. She was in the water for at least five minutes before her brother could reach them and take the conscious toddler from her chest. Throughout that time, she kept her son above water, her family told authorities.
‘‘She was holding the baby out of the water the best that she could,’’ Eldredge said.
The sheriff said neither Russell nor her son wore life jackets. They are required for boaters under 12, according to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area.
‘‘There are no words to convey the tragedy of losing a loved one like this,’’ Teri Tucker, acting superintendent for the recreation area, said in a statement. ‘‘Our hearts are with the family and friends of the victims during this time of unexpected pain and loss.’’
Russell’s co-workers at a Denver law firm remembered her as a ‘‘superstar’’ lawyer, mother and marathon runner who competed in a 160km race last year.
‘‘She was a talented lawyer, loved by everyone in this firm,’’ lawyer Keith Tooley said yesterday.
‘‘She was just a rockstar here. Her passing has just crushed us all.’’