SK woman survives rollover thanks in part to water safety training

Guest blog, Keely McBride in Saskatchewan

As the First Aid and Water Safety Manager in Saskatchewan, I am all too aware of the circumstances and number of drownings in Canada. Recently, when I received a tearful call from one of our seasoned water safety instructor-trainer, I suspected the worst.

water safety training

Water safety training helped one young woman stay calm when she was submerged, underwater, in her car.

However, this call was different—it was a story about survival. The instructor’s daughter had been driving to her job at a pool in another community when a flash flood caused her car to hydroplane across the highway and flip over onto the opposite ditch. In a province still struggling with flooding and high water levels, the ditch was also filled to the brim with water. The car was instantly submerged and the instructor's daughter was left thinking she would not be able to get out alive.

Fortunately, this particular young woman had been trained in water safety through the Red Cross Swim and Leadership program, and was also a trained lifeguard. She was able to think her way out of a terrifying situation.

As the instructor conveyed to me, her daughter was able to calm herself down and fight the urge to panic and waste precious time and energy. Instead, she unbuckled her seatbelt and forced her way out of the car. She was then able to swim to the surface and make her way out of the ditch. The young woman credits her survival to all the water safety training she has taken over the years.

Her mother, who has dedicated her life to aquatics and injury prevention, credits the work organizations like the Canadian Red Cross undertake in communities across Canada to prevent drowning through education and training. I am proud to say that I trained this young woman in water safety, and that stories like this are why I believe in the work of the Red Cross and our aquatic programs.

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