'You're an angel' — Leamington teens rush to rescue man struggling in Lake Erie
Brampton man says he 'would've been dead' if two teens hadn't spotted him struggling with his sinking Sea-Doo in Lake Erie near their Leamington home.
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A personal watercraft user tossed into Lake Erie and struggling in the water as his vessel was sinking is likely only alive because of two alert Leamington teens who spotted him, sensed the danger, and then sprang into action.
Callahan Kivell, 15 and his sister Lyla, 14, were relaxing at their family’s East Beach Road home Tuesday evening when they noticed the man in distress several hundred feet offshore just before 8:30 p.m.
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Lyla, who had been playing guitar in her room, was looking out the window of their home, located along the shoreline between Hillman Marsh and Point Pelee, when she saw the man struggling in the water next to his Sea-Doo.
She immediately alerted her brother and then called 911.
Luckily for that boater, both these quick-thinking siblings have lifeguard training.
Checking in first with their parents, Graham and Lindsay Kivell, Callahan said he grabbed life-jackets and swam out to reach the man, who appeared “exhausted and unable to stay afloat.”
“I started waving at him, and he was waving back, but trying to hold onto his jet ski,” said Callahan. “I knew this guy needed help.”
He estimated the man was a couple hundred feet offshore, but the water was rough and it could have been further.
“I was trying to talk to him, but his head kept going under the water. He was nervous — I threw the life jacket at him, told him to grab it and then told him my name. I tried to keep him calm.”
The two drifted about half a kilometre before reaching shore, where Essex County OPP officers were waiting to help them out.
I would’ve been dead if you didn’t come out
Callahan said both he and the man, whom he described as middle-aged and “much bigger,” were exhausted by the time they made it back. He estimates the rescue took nearly an hour.
“I’m glad I took those courses,” he said, referring to his water safety and life-saving training. “I don’t know what would’ve happened to that guy.
“When I was out there, he said, ‘You’re an angel … thank you so much for doing this. I would’ve been dead if you didn’t come out.'”
Callahan told the Star on Wednesday the adrenalin kicked in as soon as he hit the water.
He said he’s used to swimming — but not in rough conditions with someone’s life on the line. His focus, he said, was getting to the man fast and “figuring the rest out later.”
“I was overwhelmed and I didn’t really know what to think at the time,” Callahan said. “Seeing the guy perk up at the end, and be really grateful for my family — was just everything.
“A lot of emotion.”
Safely ashore later, the young rescuers learned the man is from Brampton and had rented the personal watercraft from a Leamington business to explore the area near Point Pelee National Park during some time off.
The Sea-Doo had flipped over and its operator couldn’t get it back upright. Although designed with buoyancy features, Sea-Doos can take on water and sink. A spokesman for the rental company told the Star that the submerged vessel was located late Tuesday night and recovered by a local marine towing company.
The teens’ mother, Lindsay, said she was proud to see her children’s training and instincts kick in at a moment of crisis.
“They were smart about it,” she told the Star. “Lyla was on shore and didn’t let Cal out of her sight, and he made sure to go in with life-jackets.
“They just knew what to do”
The rescuers’ mother, who grew up in Chatham, said she herself and her siblings all became lifeguards as teens — a family tradition she passed on to her own children. Water safety, she added, has always been a top priority.
“We think it’s important that everyone takes swimming lessons,” Kivell said.
The family also thanks Essex County OPP for their quick response and action.
There have been a number of Great Lakes drownings, but also daring rescues, across the local region in recent months.
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