| Date/Time of Occurrence: | April 12, 2006 , 7:35 p.m. |
| Nature of Occurrence: | Drowning |
| Location: | Tower Bridge - Sacramento River |
| City: | Sacramento |
| Contact: | Battalion Chief Niko King |
| Phone: | 916-216-0316 |
| Incident Number: | 17784 |
| Email: | nking@sfd.cityofsacramento.org |
| SACRAMENTO – The Sacramento Fire Department was dispatched to the Sacramento River at 7:35 p.m. where a 18 year old male had apparently fallen off of the Tower Bridge. A swift water rescue response including two boats, a dive team, and the use of the Sacramento Police Department Helicopter began search operations just downstream of the bridge.
The 18 year old male was walking from West Sacramento to Sacramento with his 16 year old fiancé, when they both decided to stop and look at the fast moving water below them. She stated that he placed his feet on the bottom rail and was leaning over the top rail at his waist so he could look straight down and see the water moving quickly underneath the bridge. She stated that he lost his footing on the lower rail and heard him shout an expletive as he went tumbling down into the water. She watched him flailing his arms and struggle for about 100 yards as he was quickly taken downstream by the current. The Spirit of Sacramento was downstream from the Tower Bridge and returning to Old Sacramento when the incident occurred. There were witnesses on the boat that stated they saw a body in the water that was apparently struggling. Witnesses saw the man from a distance and watched him submerge and then resurface again, then again go beneath the water. Fire Fighters in boats and police officers above in the helicopter searched for more than one hour and were unable to locate the victim. Rescuers transitioned from a rescue mode to a recovery mode knowing that survivability in the river after that period of time elapsed would be very unlikely. |
| Incident Commander: | Battalion Chief Lloyd Ogan |
| City Council District: | District 1: Councilmember Ray Tretheway |
| County Supervisor District: | District 1: Supervisor Roger Dickinson |
| Cause: | Accidental |
| Public Information Officer: | Battalion Chief Niko King |
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