Posted on 03/09/2006 7:11:46 AM PST by Rebelbase
OLD FORT (AP) — Daniel DeLaVergne, a whitewater kayaker who paddled one of North America's most dangerous rivers in less than 10 hours, died Wednesday after being hit by a train. He was 29.
Friends said they believed DeLaVergne was camping in the High Ridge Tunnel near Ridgecrest when the accident occurred Tuesday. He was struck by a 1,150-ton train heading west toward Asheville, Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said.
DeLaVergne was airlifted to Mission Hospitals, where he was pronounced dead.
National Geographic Adventure magazine named DeLaVergne a 2005 adventurer of the year for paddling the 50-mile run of the Stikine River in British Columbia with three other kayakers. The run is rated Class V+, the highest survivable rating for a river, and the magazine described the river as "the pinnacle of North American white water.".
The magazine said it normally takes three days to paddle the Stikine, but DeLaVergne and his friends did it in nine hours and 50 minutes.
"Daniel has done first descents in Chile, Argentina, the U.S., Newfoundland, British Columbia — the list goes on," said close friend and fellow kayaker John Grace, who paddled the Stikine with DeLaVergne. "He was an incredible friend, had an incredible work ethic and was an incredible person all around."
DeLaVergne was about 200 feet inside the 450-foot tunnel when the train struck him, McDowell County sheriff's Capt. Vick Hollifield said. Investigators found DeLaVergne's sleeping bag and camping gear in the tunnel, and his vehicle was nearby, Hollifield said.
DeLaVergne's friends believe he was scouting an area for a commercial he was shooting. Rain may have forced him to seek shelter in the tunnel, they said.
"We're not sure if he was asleep or what," he said. "The engineer told us that he had just enough time to catch a glimpse of him before he fell in front of the train. He applied the emergency brake. ... But it took a pretty good while to stop. I think it was a couple hundred yards that he was pushed down the track."
I was just about to ask how the hell he was kayaking on train tracks, but fortunately I read the second paragraph and avoided a scolding.
Intense training kills kayaker.
Never brink a kayak to a train fight.
At least his girlfriend wasn't eaten by a bear.
I'm gonna get that train!
Sorry for the Carlin flashback. I'm sure his family is in grief.
brink = bring
sheesh
Darwin Award candidate. Camping in a train tunnel.
My mommy always told me, "Never camp in a railroad tunnel."
Not smart...
How did the train get in the water?
Rain forced him 200 feet inside the tunnel? That's hardly plausible. I gotta wonder what substances he had injested to do something that crazy.
When it's your time, it's your time...
You'll never the train coming.
I had to perform the summary investigation (non-criminal) after a soldier was hit by an electric train in Hanau, Germany. It threw him over 100 feet and they found him the next morning.
Ping
I agree. You just beat me to it.
Note: Don't pitch camp inside of train tunnels. It will cut down on the odds of being hit by a train.
He don't need no Stikine River no more.
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