Utah Lake Tragedy: Mother Drowns Saving 2yo Son

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(Newswire.net — August 27, 2016) — Salt Lake City, Utah – A Woman from Colorado drowns in attempt to save her 2-year-old son who fell overboard from a boat in Lake Powel, Utah, CBS News reports.

Chelsey Russell, a 35-year-old mother of two from Lakewood, Colorado, was on a family trip to Utah. She was on a tourist boat cruising Lake Powel when her son somehow fell overboard while playing with another child.

Russell immediately jumped into the water while her brother tried to stop the boat. The houseboat was traveling only 8 miles per hour, however, it just couldn’t stop in time. While captain tried to reverse the vessel, Rusell’s brother jumped into a small motorboat that was tightly tied to the houseboat that he used a knife to cut the rope. Minutes were passing by.

When after approximately five minutes he reached his sister, she was unconscious but holding her baby’s head above the water. Baby boy was conscious.

Toddler was safely rescued, however, the rescue team couldn’t bring his mother back to life. After 30 minutes of fighting for her life by giving her CPR, he was pronounced dead at Hall’s Crossing Marina.

The mother was unconscious when help arrived, but “she was still, for whatever reason, able to keep the baby on her chest, whether conscious or unconscious,” San Juan County Sheriff Rick Eldredge told Gephardt Daily.

Chelsey Russell worked as an associate at a law firm of Welborn, Sullivan, Meck & Tooley, which posted an obituary.

“Chelsey was an amazing mother, an exceptional legal talent, an extraordinary athlete, a loyal and generous friend, and left us all better for knowing her. She is sorely missed,” a statement on the firm’s website reads.

Russell was described by her colleagues as a “rock star” lawyer, loved by everyone, and a devoted mother that would give her life for children.

 “Chelsey was an amazing mother, an exceptional legal talent, an extraordinary athlete, a loyal and generous friend, and left us all better for knowing her. She is sorely missed,” a statement on the firm’s website reads.

Besides her 2-year-old son, Russell left behind a 5-year-old daugther. It’s the sixth death at the recreation area this year, CBS News reports.