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OL: Fearless Father Jumps After Toddler Who Fell Towards 177-Foot Waterfall (incredible story)!

'Skins_&_'Stons

By 'Skins_&_'Stons
in The Tailgate

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'Skins_&_'Stons

'Skins_&_'Stons

Posted
Posted

My chest hurts thinking of seeing a loved one (especially a child) falling from so high up - I can't imagine it actually happening. What an incredible story and happy ending. So glad both are ok and he acted on his fatherly instincts without thinking.

-S&S

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2011/07/salem_father_leaps_after_young_son_when_child_slips_from_silver_falls_trail.html

Click Link For Entire Article

By Maxine Bernstein, The Oregonian

Witnesses watched in fright as a young boy slid off a trail behind South Falls at Silver Falls State Park early Sunday evening. As the boy's mother screamed hysterically, the boy's father ignored his fear of heights and jumped over the railing after him.

The father slid on his back down the steep grass-covered rocks to reach his child. They both came to a stop on a ledge about 70 feet below the trail, and avoided splashing into the pool at the bottom of the 177-foot waterfall.

"I just jumped without looking or thinking," said Ramiro Vallejo, 23. "All I wanted to do was catch up to him."

Witness Jason Wishert said he was stunned by the dad's quick reaction.

"The father was fearless," he said. "It was a miracle the child wasn't badly hurt."

Wishert was on a hike, taking photos with his iPhone. He had walked past the couple and their child. Suddenly, Wishert said he heard a woman's blood-curdling screams.

"I saw the boy. He was tumbling head over heels," Wishert recalled. "And, without hesitating, the father jumped over the railing, and was able to maintain a controlled skid on his back."

Vallejo, his wife Ana Vasquez, 20, and their son, Emmanuel, decided at the last-minute Sunday to go to the park. They arrived about 2:30 p.m. They'd been there once before, but their son was too young to accompany them on a trail. This time, he was excited to join them.

They were headed back along the path behind South Falls, when Emmanuel asked for juice. His mom put down her soda, and handed him a juice. In the instant she turned away from him, she heard him say, "Mommy, look, I'm sitting down."

She turned and saw him slide off the lower railing.

"He was rolling, rolling, really fast," she said.

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She screamed his name.

"I thought if he heard me, he'd try to hold on to something and stop," Vasquez said.

Vallejo heard his wife yelling their son's name. "I saw him tip over. I ran to the rail," he said.

Then he jumped over it, not looking at what was below, grabbing onto the grass as he slid.

"All I did was keep an eye on him," Vallejo said. "I didn't look where I was stepping."

Vasquez kept screaming as she scrambled down a side trail to get to the bottom.

"I thought the worst," she said.

Vallejo, hurtling along after his son, saw the child suddenly stop. "I think he grabbed onto something. He slowed down, and I was able to catch up."

Vallejo laid back against the slope, holding his son, who was crying. He said the grass was covered with mist, and slippery, and he wasn't sure if he should inch his way down or climb back up the slope.

"All I did was try to hold him, try to calm him down," Vallejo said. "I'm here with you, I told him."

A family taking photos below was able to reach the two, and helped them get down. Vallejo carried his son to a nearby bridge, where he met his wife.

"He was telling me to hug him really, really hard, and he was squeezing me really, really hard," Vasquez said. "But he had a big smile on his face."

Fire Chief Fred Patterson, of Drake's Crossing Fire District, responded to a 4:59 p.m. 9-1-1 call for help at the park, and found the father carrying the boy up the path toward the parking lot.

"Miraculously, it was a couple of scratches and bumps and bruises," Patterson said. "Their vital signs were all good and normal...It all came out good."

The young Salem couple took their son to a hospital in Salem, where he was checked out for head injuries. They were thankful he had only a couple of scratches on his back and above his nose.

Park Manager Kevin Strandberg said he had inspected the double-railing and trail two weeks earlier, and the trail itself was upgraded this year to a fresh gravel surface to provide more traction. "It is definitely a high-use area that we keep a close eye on," Strandberg said.

Patterson advises parents to keep a sharp watch on children. Vasquez said she had tried to keep her son on the side of the trail, away from the slope and falls.

"If a parent, literally, doesn't have a hold of their child, considering the topography that's there, there are possibilities," Patterson said. "The best thing is, if you're going to go hiking on the trail with kids, keep hold of them."

After a sleepless night, Emmanuel's father returned to work Monday at Valley Hay Exports, where he drives a fork-lift. The father said he has been fearful of heights since he was a boy, when he was afraid to climb trees.

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THEREALTOR1

THEREALTOR1

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You see those people in Walmart with those kid leashes strapped to their little ankle biters, I would think one of those might be a good idea if you're traversing a gravel trail next to a 70' dropoff with your first born. Regardless, i'm glad to hear that both son and dad were ok.

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ffxdrummer

ffxdrummer

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What an awesome story, that could have ended so much worse, great work by the father!

I will say though, that the headline "Fell Towards 177 Foot Waterfall" doesn't really imply that you're already at the base of the waterfall. It's more like, fell down a hill towards a choppy pond.

Regardless, he could have been killed, so kudos for the quick-thinking.

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Duckus

Duckus

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I will say though, that the headline "Fell Towards 177 Foot Waterfall" doesn't really imply that you're already at the base of the waterfall. It's more like, fell down a hill towards a choppy pond.

Regardless, he could have been killed, so kudos for the quick-thinking.

:ols: I sort of agree. While reading it I was picturing the dad and kid coming to a stop on the edge of a waterfall. After seeing the pictures it was not that scary.

I am a horrible person. :ols:

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gortiz

gortiz

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Great story. It's a good thing Carlos Rogers didn't dive after him. ;)

A stretch? Maybe. But Carlos Rogers drop jokes are just priceless.

Like fine china.

Which he shouldn't hold. :ols:

i hate you for making me laugh at this .... :ols::ols::ols:

the "china' zinger was espeically good ... which makes me hate you more. :ols:

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China

China

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Who takes a toddler hiking on a trail like that with two little guy wires on the side where there is a 175 foot drop? WTF?

You're right, he should have taken him to the Cliffs of Moher instead.

Mar2011CliffsOfMoher.jpg

I have no problem with him taking his child there, but seeing the guard rail, or lack of one, they should have held the child's hand.

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Capt. Kaos

Capt. Kaos

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Let me start with this, I'm glad the kid is ok.

That being said, let me get this straight...

we are supposed to make this idiot a hero because his kid fell from a trail that any responsible person would have taken steps to ensure didnt happen.

There was a number of things that the prents could/should have done here, the least of which is have to slide down a hill to save their kid.

I'm all for taking kids on nature hikes but being responsible for their safety is priority #1.

I may be a horrible person but I really don't understand what he did that was so great. He corrected a mistake that was made by his own poor judgement.

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Rocky21

Rocky21

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Your right, he should have taken him to the Cliffs of Moher instead.

I have no problem with him taking his child there, but seeing the guard rail, or lack of one, they should have held the child's hand.

These two have the double grip. Everything but duct tape. ;-)
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China

China

Posted
Posted
Let me start with this, I'm glad the kid is ok.

That being said, let me get this straight...

we are supposed to make this idiot a hero because his kid fell from a trail that any responsible person would have taken steps to ensure didnt happen.

There was a number of things that the prents could/should have done here, the least of which is have to slide down a hill to save their kid.

I'm all for taking kids on nature hikes but being responsible for their safety is priority #1.

I may be a horrible person but I really don't understand what he did that was so great. He corrected a mistake that was made by his own poor judgement.

I agree.

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'Skins_&_'Stons

'Skins_&_'Stons

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I never said he was a hero. This is an amazing story & I felt like ES needed a thread that wasn't about baby killers, our disastrous economy, our astronomical national debt, the middle east or any other highly depressing story.

You are not a horrible person. Everybody is entitled to their own opinion. We don't know that the parents were irresponsible. Toddlers are quick, crafty little ****ers & even the most cautious of parents can take their eye off a 3 year old for a fraction of a second & the kid is in the midst of a 20 yard dash. All I know is that this is not something you read about everyday & although terrifying, it made me feel good about our world.

Let me start with this, I'm glad the kid is ok.

That being said, let me get this straight...

we are supposed to make this idiot a hero because his kid fell from a trail that any responsible person would have taken steps to ensure didnt happen.

There was a number of things that the prents could/should have done here, the least of which is have to slide down a hill to save their kid.

I'm all for taking kids on nature hikes but being responsible for their safety is priority #1.

I may be a horrible person but I really don't understand what he did that was so great. He corrected a mistake that was made by his own poor judgement.

I agree.
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Skin'Em84

Skin'Em84

Posted
Posted
Let me start with this, I'm glad the kid is ok.

That being said, let me get this straight...

we are supposed to make this idiot a hero because his kid fell from a trail that any responsible person would have taken steps to ensure didnt happen.

There was a number of things that the prents could/should have done here, the least of which is have to slide down a hill to save their kid.

I'm all for taking kids on nature hikes but being responsible for their safety is priority #1.

I may be a horrible person but I really don't understand what he did that was so great. He corrected a mistake that was made by his own poor judgement.

There are, but as a poster said above me, toddlers are sneaky buggers and he may have only glanced away for a second, and the kid is tumbling down a hill. Kids sneak off, it's what they are good at.

Parents aren't perfect, and in day where all we hear about is Casey Anthony, the failing economy and how everyone is going to die in some horrible way, it's nice to hear about a parent diving recklessly to save his kids.

He didn't have to dive down there, I'm sure we can find plenty of articles where a father doesn't risk his life to save his kid (even if it's his fault the kid almost died).

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Mickalino

Mickalino

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There are' date=' but as a poster said above me, toddlers are sneaky buggers and he may have only glanced away for a second, and the kid is tumbling down a hill. Kids sneak off, it's what they are good at.

Parents aren't perfect, and in day where all we hear about is Casey Anthony, the failing economy and how everyone is going to die in some horrible way, it's nice to hear about a parent diving recklessly to save his kids.

He didn't have to dive down there, I'm sure we can find plenty of articles where a father doesn't risk his life to save his kid (even if it's his fault the kid almost died).[/quote']

Of course they are sneaky, but this group adventure was not mandatory, like a trip to the grocery store would be.

Like I mentioned before, do not even take a kid along, to an excursion where the risk is so high, if indeed they do sneak off.

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