Vancouver, Canada. Officer rescues woman from icy river
Police hero recounts rescue
Jan 4, 2006
The Vancouver police officer who saved a woman from the Fraser River on Monday night has spoken publicly for the first time about the daring rescue.
The 21-year-old woman was a passenger in a speeding pickup truck that careened over an embankment at the foot of Fraser Street and plunged into the river. Const. Gerry Proctor had been pursuing the truck, saw the woman surface in the cold, fast-moving river and cry out for help.
"I went in the water...take your breath away. And I remember thinking, 'Whoa.' Like it's a shock, it's a natural shock. I'm sure we've all experienced it. And it wasn't an option, right? She's there," he said. "I knew physically I could get there. It just took a little mental determination to fight through that initial shock, and, you know, I swam out and grabbed her."
Proctor says although he was happy to have saved the woman, he's sad he could do nothing for her 31-year-old boyfriend who drove the truck into the water. "She was screaming that her leg was broken, and she was screaming for her boyfriend. I said, 'Who else is in the truck?' She said, 'My boyfriend, can you get him?'
"I tried to reassure her that we would try. I went back on the end of the log and looked, but I didn't have a start point. The truck was gone, There were no bubbles, there was no where to look. I stood there for a minute or two and no one came up." The young woman is recovering in hospital from a broken leg. The man driving the truck – 31-year-old Ryan Paszkowski of Surrey died in the accident.
Keith Finsterwald, who lives in a shelter on the bank of the river, helped Const. Proctor get one of his boots off. Proctor says he had help on Monday night – from Keith Finsterwald, who was living in a makeshift shelter on the bank of the river. The homeless man saw the truck go into the water and called for help. Proctor says Finsterwald waded out into the water to save the couple, but was forced back because he couldn't swim.
"And I'm shouting to Finsterwald to help me with my boots. Well, he runs into the water again, and then he remembers he can't swim again. So he runs back and says, 'I can't swim.' "'Take my bloody boot off for me will you,' and so we're struggling to get my boot off, and it comes off."
Proctor says Finsterwald then watched his gun and other equipment while he dove in the water and swam out to get the woman. A spokesperson for the Vancouver police department says its not a question of whether the officer will get a medal, but more of how many and when.
Retrieved March 9, 2006 from http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/print/bc_hero20060104