One might think that, under the circumstances, and if you know how to swim, you could survive such an event.
The problem is undertow and objects in the water.
The public would be amazed by the number of trees and parts of trees, that travel downstream, about 3ft under the surface of the river.
Most small boats never encounter such a "torpedo," but swiming out from shore, such as along the Ohio River, you can be "torpedo'd" and just plain "disappeared beneath the waves."
Just takes one knock on the head or a punch in the gut, or a caught ankle or wrist.
I am grateful that she managed to hold on, but I am concerned about the damage to her guts; she may have a bigger battle ahead of her.
What is the best thing to do in such a situation?
Try to swim to higher ground? You can't wade it out or float on something, it seems.
She will be effected by this event for the rest of her life. Not only from the physical damage to her body but also from the mental damage. It seems likely now that she lost someone she loved and that she engineered the chain of events that led her and her boyfriend to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Who knows how this will affect her but I wouldn't be surprised if many years of depression, second guessing and regret are in her future.