Man survives plunge over Niagara Falls
'He walked over to where we were standing and jumped': First to remain alive without any safety devices
 
Jennifer Pellegrini 
The Canadian Press


Tuesday, October 21, 2003

CREDIT: Mike Dibattista, The Canadian Press
 
An unidentified man who survived a feet-first plunge over Niagara Falls without any life-supporting equipment is led to a waiting ambulance in handcuffs.
 

NIAGARA FALLS - A man has survived a plunge over Niagara Falls wearing only the clothes on his back, witnesses say.

Bystanders at the brink of the Horseshoe Falls said a man climbed over a wrought-iron barricade early yesterday afternoon, slid down an embankment to the rocks below, stepped into the water and went over the falls.

Witnesses said the man apparently swam to shore.

The man, whose name was not released, was walked out from the gorge with the help of emergency services personnel and did not appear to have any serious injuries.

If the accounts are true, the man will be the first person known to have survived after plunging over the falls without any safety devices.

That is a miracle, said Lynda Satelmajer, who was sure she was witnessing a suicide when she saw the man prepare to go into the water.

"We thought that he looked odd because he made eye contact with us and he seemed a bit edgy, kind of jumping around," she said.

Ms. Satelmajer said she and her family were standing at the spot where the man went into the water. "He walked over to where we were standing and he jumped and slid down on his backside and went over the brink," she said.

"It was really freaky, actually. He was smiling."

The scene was equally surreal for Lavaughn and Diedre Love, who were in Niagara Falls to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

"The guy just basically jumped in the falls," Ms. Love said.

"I saw him go over. He didn't yell or anything."

Her husband said the couple had just made their way to the falls after watching a movie about the daredevils who had tested the mighty cataract and failed.

"They did it in a barrel, but this guy went over without a barrel or anything," Mr. Love said.

Witnesses said staff on a tour boat attempted to throw the man a life preserver, but the strong current swept it away.

Somehow, the man just swam to the shore, Ms. Satelmajer said.

Members of the Niagara Parks Police High Angle Access Team located the man and brought him out of the gorge, where he was treated by a medical team before being taken to Greater Niagara General Hospital.

Hospital spokeswoman Marilyn Bellows said the man was in stable condition, but declined to provide any additional information about when he would be released.

© Copyright 2003 National Post

It's illegal in both Canada and the US to preform stunts without some kind of a permit. It's illegal for the same reason drugs are illegal, the person may hurt themselves. It's been that way for many years.