Posted on 07/06/2016 12:40:58 PM PDT by rey
SACRAMENTO — A disability rights advocate drowned in a bizarre accident when she fell into the Sacramento River in her wheelchair after watching Fourth of July fireworks.
Laurie Hoirup's husband, Jacob Hoirup, tells the Sacramento Bee (http://bit.ly/29mKqJs) the accident happened after she and several other people were getting off a pontoon at the Sacramento Marina Monday night after watching fireworks on the boat.
He says the 60-year-old woman was on a ramp between the boat and dock when the boat shifted and caused the ramp to fall into the water, bringing her, her husband and some others down with it.
Jacob Hoirup says he tried to save her but the wheelchair was too heavy and he ran out of oxygen.
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Hoirup as chief deputy director of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities. She also published several books about living with disabilities.
I get it. The chair cost more than she earns so save the chair first.
My guess is she was probably strapped in. Sad story. RIP...
She spent so long telling other people that the disabled can do anything if people just build them ramps she did not stop to think if they SHOULD do anything. Being strapped into a chair (if she was) anywhere near water is incredibly stupid.
Poor woman. What a terrible way to die.
Maybe she was a Democrat but she was PRO-LIFE and anti-euthanasia and that says much for her.
http://dailysignal.com/2015/07/05/disability-advocates-fight-assisted-suicide-measures/
many of these ADA advocates are just privateer “expert witnesses” for ADA blackmail suits.
That would have been some PFD to keep a wheelchair up and it sounds like she was in some way strapped in.
3 letters: P. F. D.
Every time.
Common sense says that if you are not able bodied, do not go on the water.
Timeless advice.
My friend has a fancy boat. It has pumps and it fills up with water and leans over to one side so as to create a wake/wave behind it that is surfable on a surfboard. In addition it has large aftermarket water bags in the cabin to increase the leaning over effect. It is not a safe environment.
He invited me and my 5 year old to go out with him.
I had to say no. It’s not safe for my kid.
Spoken to a few people that have drowned and been brought back. In the continuim of ways to die it’s actually not bad.
I guess. But then, why is waterboarding such torture?
They make PFDs for disabled people but the story doesn’t tell the extent of her disability and whether she could have released herself or not. A friend who is paraplegic does so all the time. Getting in and out is when accidents are likely to happen. Sad story in any case.
It’s obviously very scary but it’s over pretty quickly and relatively painless.
Everyone has limits. Everyone should be aware of those limits.
“It’s obviously very scary but it’s over pretty quickly and relatively painless.”
What about getting caught in the gears of a combine or a brush chipper? What about a threesome with Helen Thomas and Hillary Clinton? Would that kill you and would it be torturous?
So those limits are you can’t swim with a wheel chair, you can’t roller skate in a buffalo herd and you can’t take a shower in a parakeet cage.
Those seem like they would apply to most people.
Negligent and inattentive will get them off a FBI investigation. Not sure about civil court.
Maybe she was probably strapped in.
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