Boy loses arm in surfing accident
Posted July 8th, 2008 by minortopics | via seattletimes.nwsource.comAn Oregon boy was in a surfing accident in the Pacific Ocean that caused him to lose his arm.
Cole Ortega, 14, of Bend collided with a dory boat that was coming into shore Sunday morning in 8- to 10-foot swells, said Sheriff Todd Anderson of Tillamook County. The collision occurred about 100 yards off the beach at a time when there were numerous surfers and boats in the water.
Fellow surfers helped Ortega to shore, where he was aided by an Oregon State Police trooper. An emergency room doctor who happened to be walking on the beach then stabilized the boy until he could be transferred to Tillamook County General Hospital, Anderson said. A LifeFlight helicopter then took him to a Portland trauma center.
