Unconscious kayaker rescued from Snake River

A Tennessee man is recovering in an Idaho Falls hospital after he overturned his boat and lost consciousness.

Grand Teton National Park Public Affairs Officer Jackie Skaggs said Gerald Skinner, 80, of Brentwood, Tenn., was kayaking with his son near the confluence of the Buffalo Fork River when he apparently overturned his boat and lost consciousness.

Skaggs says Skinner’s son made a 911 call for help at 11:50 a.m. Park rangers quickly responded to the scene by foot and by boat.

A private fishing party of two EMT firefighters from Colorado happened to float by and they stopped to assist. The two EMTs began to provide emergency medical care to Skinner. They also delivered updates to the dispatcher while rangers were en-route.

Rangers transferred Skinner—who was breathing, but still unresponsive—to a sandbar in the middle of the river where a Teton Interagency contract helicopter was able to land. The helicopter made a quick flight with Skinner and the two park paramedics aboard from the river island to a nearby ball field at the Moran School.

After he landed, Skinner was transferred into a waiting park ambulance. Emergency care continued in the ambulance until Classic Air Ambulance, a life-flight service out of Riverton, was able to arrive and provide transport to the Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center in Idaho Falls.

An investigation into what caused the boating accident is still underway. Both Skinners were wearing life vests at the time of the incident.

Skaggs says this marks the second serious boating accident on the Snake River this year.