A Sacramento woman says she nearly drowned and her son was traumatized when she got stuck in a fish trap while floating on the American River.
A lawsuit filed Friday in Superior Court seeks damages from state and federal wildlife agencies and Sacramento County over the incident, on June 10, 2020, just west of the Watt Avenue bridge in Sacramento.
The woman and her son had been floating on inner tubes for less than a quarter-mile, the complaint says, when hers was pulled toward a “rotary screw trap” — a floating device intended to capture salmon for monitoring purposes.
The woman’s legs went into the trap’s drum and were pinned by its rotating blades, and “she could barely pull her head above water,” the suit says. Her son, a minor whose age is not given, was able to push the blades back and release his mother’s legs as she began to lose consciousness, it said.
She says she suffered cuts and bruises and that the incident continues to cause her “mental, physical and nervous pain and suffering.” Her son, the complaint says, suffered “serious emotional distress.”
The suit contends the agencies responsible for the traps’ installation and maintenance were negligent, including by not posting warnings in the popular recreational spot. Since the incident, it says, brightly colored buoys have been placed near the two traps at the Watt Avenue bridge.
In addition to the county, the suit names the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The fish traps, indicated by the icon, can be seen between the small island and the river’s north bank in this satellite image.
The Link LonkJune 09, 2021 at 01:35AM
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Woman sues over getting stuck in fish trap while tubing in Sacramento - The Mercury News
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