Woman saved after fall from breakwater

October 15, 2013

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LUDINGTON — A 62-year-old Ohio woman was saved from Lake Michigan this morning after she fell off the breakwater. The wheelchair-bound woman had fallen off the north pier breakwater after she and her husband stopped to take a picture.

Ludington Police Sgt. Matt McMellen said this was their first time visiting Ludington and they were about 75 feet from the lighthouse. “Her husband stopped to take a picture and he didn’t set the brake on the wheelchair. It appears a gust of wind pushed her into the rocks off the breakwater.”

McMellen said the woman went into the water and was then rescued by her husband and other bystanders. “They were able to keep her from going back into the water but weren’t able to get her on the flat portion of the breakwater.” Ludington police and firefighters, along with Life EMS ambulance personnel were able to securely get her onto a flat surface, he said.

The woman was taken by ambulance to Spectrum Health Ludington Hospital. McMellen said she did not appear to be suffering from any serious injuries. He said bystanders had a difficult time using their cell phones to call 911, which is possibly attributed to today’s fiber optic power outages (see related story). Their calls were eventually re-routed to the Muskegon County 911 center, which then relayed the information to Mason-Oceana 911.

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