Woman spots drowning victim at popular Tuolumne County swimming hole; bravery hailed
Authorities are hailing a Tuolumne County woman as a hero for her quick thinking and actions, which saved another woman’s life on the Clavey River.
On Friday, Amanda Duncan was swimming with her two daughters at God’s Bath, a popular swimming hole on the Clavey River just north of Cottonwood Road. According to the Tuolumne Sheriff’s Department, Duncan saw another woman jump from a waterfall into the pool. The other woman was pushed back under the waterfall by the strong current, and initially was struggling to swim and stay above water.
Authorities said Duncan noticed the woman floating face down and jumped in to pull her out with the help of others. Duncan began administering CPR on the 26-year-old woman. But her resuscitation efforts did not seem to be working, so she sat the victim up and performed several “abdominal thrusts,” which then dislodged a large obstruction of food from the victim’s throat, authorities said.
Duncan made sure the victim had a pulse and was breathing, then hiked back to her car to call for help while others stayed with the woman. Cal Fire, Tuolumne City Fire and Tuolumne County Ambulance were dispatched to the location. A Cal Fire helicopter responded to hoist the victim from the area to a waiting ambulance.
In a post on the Tuolumne County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page, the department thanked Duncan for her actions.
“Without Amanda’s bravery and aid, this could have ended in tragedy. We want to thank Amanda for her selflessness and heroic actions. We also thank Cal Fire, Tuolumne Fire, The Forest Service, Tuolumne County Ambulance and all of the first responders for their work. Great team effort,” the post said.
This story was originally published July 28, 2019 at 5:18 AM.
