Name:   Lake Magazine - Subject:   paralysis from Chimney Rock accident Date:   8/3/2010 6:07:23 PM

Here’s an excerpt from a column I wrote about the Ryan Penney article:

“Thousands of people jump off Acapulco Rock each year and swim away injury free, but a quick Google search reveals just how dangerous a bad landing can be.

In 1994 former Auburn University head coach Terry Bowden broke several ribs after jumping off the rock. In 1999 LPGA golfer Reilley Rankin sustained a cracked sternum, two broken vertebrae, a bruised heart and bruised lungs after a bad fall. Si Mathison, a Montgomery man, damaged his spine, including a burst vertebra, but avoided paralysis after jumping from the rock in 2006. That same year, a 16-year-old Ohio boy named Kyle Reaves was knocked unconscious and suffered a collapsed lung after jumping from the rock. He never resurfaced and his body was recovered about 20 minutes after he fell.

In most of these cases, the injured person had a bad landing. Bowden reportedly dove off the rock. Rankin landed in a seated position and Reaves supposedly landed on his side.”

You can read the rest of it here: http://www.lakemartinmagazine.com/2010/08/03/column-in-the-weekend-outlook/.

Please feel free to contact me about the Chimney Rock article or anything else you'd like to see in the magazine. 

Thanks,
Katie Cole
Lake