Jul 4, 2008 3:47 pm US/Pacific
Water Safety A Must For Fourth Of July Weekend
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ―
Today is the first major holiday since the new Sacramento law – everyone under the age of 13 must wear a life jacket while swimming in rivers and lakes. CBS13 asks the question – How will they enforce this new law?
On the Sacramento River, a child holding a dog floating off with his rather rowdy party was spotted by a Park Ranger who noticed he wasn't wearing a life jacket, and yelled out," How old are you?"
The child yells back at the Park Ranger that he is 13, which makes him legally okay, though Rangers have their doubts.
Officials say enforcing the new law has to do with responsible parents.
"That's your kids like that you're playing with and people die here every year," Xavier Basquez.
Xavier's eight-year-old didn't need anyone telling him, his daughter Xeya knows she's not allowed in the water without one.
"Frankly, 12 and under they don't know better, and their parents do and they need to get life jackets on those kids," says Jeff Lynch.
Sac Metro Fire, having worked a half dozen drownings the last few months, half of them involving kids, loaned out more than 3,000 life jackets today.
"We have never pulled a body out of this river that had a life jacket on, that's the bottom line," Jeff says.
If you will be rafting the river this week, launching from the Sunrise Bridge, beware of a snag in the water.
Today, everyone was warned, but one man, aiming right for it, almost ended up in trouble.
"Hopefully that's the only one for today, but I got my doubts," says Chinh Hoang.
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