LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville rowing coach was in the right place at the right time when she pulled a man from the Ohio River and saved his life.
Riley Kerber is the head coach at the Louisville Rowing Club, which puts her on the river for several hours a week.
Practice is held in a protected portion of the river, free of barge traffic and pleasure boats. But occasionally, the weather pushes practice toward the center of the river.
While all of Kerber's practices are planned out, the weather recently forced some of her students out near the Big Four Bridge.
It was a change of course that turned the coach into a lifesaver.
"We were out with our junior's program, and the kids were a little bit ahead," she said.
Kerber was in her usual seat on the white boat used for practice, essentially her office on the water. The boat is designed to be slow and follow behind the rowers.
"It is designed to be getting people out of the water," she said.
The wind had forced the rowers toward the Big Four Bridge that day. As Kerber caught up with her group of rowers, she heard someone yelling and noticed there was someone struggling in the water.
"The first thing, when I saw him in the water, I thought he was one of the master rowers that I knew was out and I thought they had flipped," she said. "And the closer I got, I didn't recognize him and I thought it was a kayaker or some other pleasure athlete out."
But it wasn't either one.
"And he yelled 'Help! Help! Help!' and I didn't know what had happened or who he was," Kerber said.
She maneuvered the boat to the man in the river. She had no idea who he was or how he got there, but he was worn out and injured.
"He got on and basically said 'I got my answer that I'm supposed to be here,'" she said.
The man complained about his back hurting and was spitting up blood, so Kerber called 911. That's when she got a better picture of what had happened.
"I said 'Sir, can you talk to me?'" Kerber said. "I called 911, and they said 'Was this near the walking bridge? And I said 'I have a man in my boat that I just pulled from out of the water.' (They said) 'We just got a call a man jumped off the bridge.'".
The man in her boat and the man who reportedly jumped off the bridge were the same person. Kerber dropped him off at the fire department's dock, where EMS took him to the hospital.
"I'm thankful we were there," she said. "That was not part of the practice plan. We had intended to stay on the other side of the island."
Kerber had eight high school-aged rowers who now wanted answers. So members of the club's crisis team and fellow rowers convened in the boat house.
"They had about a 20-minute conversation about secondhand trauma and how to cope with any feelings they might have, which was helpful for me and I hope helpful (for them)," she said.
Kerber earned her stripes not only as a coach but as a mentor and a lifesaver.
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