Wheelchair user pulled from icy Oregon river

From KGW-TV:

CORVALLIS, Ore. -- A wheelchair-bound man was pulled from the confluence of the Willamette and Marys rivers Dec. 8 by three Corvallis police officers.

"Nearest we can tell, he was probably in the water about 15 minutes prior to our arrival," says Officer Willie Setzer.

"That water was near freezing, ice all around," adds Officer Lee McColly.

"He had to keep tilting his head in and out of the water to breath. He'd breathe and then tire out and hold his breath," explained Officer Luther MacLean.

When three Corvallis Police Department officers reached 55-year-old Ken Clark Tuesday afternoon, he was drifting in and out of consciousness and his vitals were fading quickly.

"It sounded like he had just given up when he saw officer MacLean arrive on scene and just kind of put his head down so at that point it probably wouldn't have been long," says Setzer.

It was at the confluence of the Marys and Willamette rivers where Clark nearly lost his life. Somehow his motorized wheelchair left a river-side path and careened down a rocky face. The chair, with Clark strapped in, landed in the water on its side leaving Clark's mouth and nose just inches above the water's surface. When the officers arrived on scene he was struggling to breathe and on the verge of giving up.

"The three of us basically held him up while officer MacLean cut the straps to free him from the chair," says Setzer.

Risking their own safety, the officers had jumped waist deep into the icy water to pull Clark to safety. He couldn't speak and his body was cold to the touch. His time was running out.

"I know hypothermia sets in very quickly and with that water being just barely above freezing or so I wouldn't think it would be very long," explains McColly.

Clark was carried up the rocky embankment where paramedics from the Corvallis Fire Department were at the ready.

"I look at it as we were just doing our duty. That's what we're called upon to do and that's what we do," explains McColly.
"That's why we're here. When people call 911 they expect service and I feel good about that," echoes MacLean.

While the officers are credited for risking their own safety to save Clark, they all point to quick thinking of a good samaritan, Hezekiah Franklin, who spotted Clark in the water, ran to a nearby business to call 911. His actions started the rescue process leading to Clark's survival.