Help Cole Ortega
Over the past holiday weekend, a Bend resident, 14 year old champion snowboarder Cole Ortega was surfing with his sister and sister’s boyfriend at Pacific City, Oregon when he was run over by a dory boat fisherman attempting to land on the beach. In the process, Cole had his arm severed from his body. Thanks to quick action by surfers around him, Cole was able to get to the beach, receive medical attention, and get airlifted to Portland for treatment. Thanks to another surfer on the scene, Cole’s arm was recovered from the ocean and was able to be re-attached later, as Cole underwent treatment at Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland. But there is no prognosis as to the success of the operation as of yet and recovery will be long, painful and expensive.
I’ve surfed this spot 100s of times and its a real tragedy to see such a promising young athlete have such a horrific event befall him. Our Wendful heart goes out to him and his family. If you’d like to help Cole with his recovery, you can send donations to:
Cole Ortega Recovery Fund
P.O.Box 423, Pacific City Ore 97135
[...] from the Wend Blog… An Oregon surfer was run over by a powerboat, which severed his arm. As if the risk of shark attacks up there wasn’t enough! Related [...]
Isn’t there something that the authorities ought to be doing regarding the boat captain’s behavior? How do you miss a surfer in f’ing Oregon waters? Was it crowded? If so, how’d the capt justify landing at that particular spot??? If not, how’d he miss the kid? I have been yelled at multiple times by lobster guys in SoCal, wanting people to give them room when collecting from traps, but at least they are careful of others in the water.
1. Swells were at record heights. Surfers and fishermen could not see each other/ Crowded conditions.
2. Surfers were occupying boaters assigned territory
3. Plenty of blame for authorities for lack or lax control over area
4. Iwas a visitor from Arizone, strolling the beach when the tragic accident occurred.