Man floating down river sucked into spillway, Oregon cops say. Now he’s hospitalized
A 56-year-old man floating down an Oregon river was pulled through rapid waters into a spillway, police said.
Bend police responded to a caller seeing a body in the Deschutes River around at 2:17 p.m. on Thursday, July 21, near McKay Park and the Whitewater Park, police said in a news release.
The man was identified by police as Joseph Clarence Torkelson of Bend.
He was floating downstream with his roommate when he went to the right side of the river instead of staying on the left where floaters go through gentle rapids, police said.
Torkelson ended up on the wrong side of the buoys before he was sucked into more treacherous rapids.
A person standing on the Colorado Avenue footbridge saw his body and pointed a kayaker to him, police said.
Witnesses helped pull Torkelson from the river, police said. Firefighters and officers then performed CPR on the man for 10 minutes before he was taken to St. Chares Medical Center.
He was in the intensive care unit as of Thursday, July 21, police said.
The river eventually splits into three channels. One channel has mellow rapids that floaters can go through. The second channel has waves for whitewater kayakers, paddleboarders or surfers.
The third channel is a habitat area that’s not accessible to people.
A spokesperson for Bend Park and Recreation District told McClatchy News the man actually went across a “boom” or “barrier” in the river and into the center channel that’s intended for experienced whitewater use.
The area previously had a dam but it was removed.
Floating the river is a popular summer activity in Bend.
Bend is about 140 miles east of Eugene.
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Man floating down river sucked into spillway, Oregon cops say. Now he’s hospitalized."
