Calm Is Key to Surviving Fall Into Aqueduct

It’s late at night and you’re cruising down the Antelope Valley Freeway. You suddenly swerve to avoid hitting a coyote, and crash through a lightweight barrier.

Or you get off for gas and by mistake get back on the wrong side, then try to cut across the median to where you belong.

Instead of finding safety, you land in the California Aqueduct and you’re beginning to sink--as screenwriter Gary Devore apparently did a little over a year ago.

What should you do?

“Try not to panic,” Los Angeles County Fire Capt. Steve Valenzuela said.

“You need to remain as calm as possible so you can unstrap yourself and if you have children, do everything you can to release them from their belts so that everybody has a fighting chance to get out.”

If you can escape, Valenzuela suggests trying to stand atop your vehicle if possible and wait for emergency rescue crews to arrive to avoid being swept into the smooth concrete channel’s swiftly moving current.

“The vehicle may continue to move, so if you get out, you may not have the luxury of having the roof of a car to cling too,” he added.

“It’s unfortunately not like fire safety where we have the luxury of purchasing fire extinguishers and smoke detectors.”

Earlier this month, a county firefighter rescued 9-year-old Shanika Lister after she was trapped for more than 20 minutes under water when her mother’s car plunged into the California Aqueduct in Palmdale.

The car in which Shanika was riding landed in the aqueduct after her mother swerved to avoid a car heading toward them on Pearblossom Highway.

And last week, authorities recovered the body of Devore, found in his Ford Explorer submerged in the California Aqueduct near Palmdale.

Authorities are investigating a theory that Devore may have been driving in the wrong direction of the Antelope Valley Freeway late at night after a long drive from New Mexico.

There is no barrier to prevent wrong-way traffic, trying to cross the median strip, from hurtling into the aqueduct.

“When you go into a body of water like that, the deeper it is, the more likely it is you’re going to sink,” Valenzuela said.

“And as they sink, most vehicles go down engine first and then they tend to turn upside down.”

Valenzuela said cars typically--but not always--float for 45 seconds to a minute, giving motorists a small window of time to take action. You may find yourself unable to open the door at first against the water pressure, he said, but once water floods into the vehicle, it will start to equalize the pressure, making it easier to open the door.

“The interesting thing is, even if you have power windows and door locks, they seem to work for a few minutes before they go out,” Valenzuela said.

If you happen to watch a car plunge into the aqueduct, Valenzuela suggests trying to throw a flotation device such as a tire or a piece of wood to the victim.

“Do not go in the water yourself,” Valenzuela warned.

And if you’re calling 911 from your cellular telephone to notify authorities that someone has fallen into the aqueduct, you need to be as precise as possible in giving the location, a description of the vehicle and what the victim was wearing.

“If you just say ‘Hey, I saw someone go down in the aqueduct, get help out here,’ and then hang up, it does absolutely no good,” Valenzuela said.