Kansas doctor Dustin Harker dies saving his daughter from drowning on rafting trip in Colorado

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A Kansas physician saved his daughter when she turned trapped by their overturned raft in a speeding Colorado river, however was unable to save lots of himself.

Dustin Harker, 47, a neurologist from Hutchinson, was on a whitewater rafting journey Friday with pals from church and 4 of his 13 youngsters when the accident occurred within the Sunshine Falls space on the Arkansas River.

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  Dustin Harker

GoFundMe


The household had rafted the identical river in earlier years however the rapids had been extra turbulent than traditional resulting from excessive quantities of rainfall, mentioned Harker’s sister-in-law, Sharon Neu Younger.

He had three of his youngsters (17-tear-old Matthieu, 15-year-old Ayden, and 13-year-old Camille) within the raft with he and different members of their celebration, CBS Colorado reported. His 18-year-old daughter Clara was in one other raft. 

The raft capsized in a sequence of rapids, Younger mentioned.

“Camille was trapped below the raft and Dustin was capable of flip it over and get it off of her,” Younger informed CBS Information Colorado. “He was additionally capable of get them each again on to the raft.”

Everybody struggled to get to shore, Younger added, however made it.

“Sadly, by then Dustin had already taken on an excessive amount of water,” Younger mentioned. “He was nonetheless talking however shortly after turned unresponsive.”

He died regardless of CPR efforts.

Her brother-in-law informed CBS Colorado that Harker didn’t die from drowning. A lately accomplished post-mortem decided Harker died from two cerebral hematomas. 

“They believe his head crashed in opposition to some rocks within the river when he was thrown from the boat,” Younger said. “The mind trauma is what took his life.”

Cheryl Gonsalves, advertising supervisor for Hutchinson Clinic, mentioned Harker cared deeply about his sufferers.

“He was completely revered right here,” she mentioned.

A GoFundMe web page arrange for Harkin has raised greater than $33,000.


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