Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Pioneer Mike II dedication Saturday ... Transient who made racist comments known to Ashland police ... 18 students fraudulently earned certification at Abdill ... Pioneer Mike II dedication Saturday ... Transient who made racist comments known to Ashland police ... 18 students fraudulently earned certification at Abdill ... SHUTTLE BUS ROLLOVER Rafting trip nearly ended in tragedy Clinic workers' injuries ranged from cuts and bruises to neck fracture Comment By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 5:39 PM Updated Jun 28, 2016 at 5:47 PM By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 5:39 PM Updated Jun 28, 2016 at 5:47 PM » Social News Members of a Klamath Falls clinic that helps train rural doctors had just completed a rafting trip with family down the upper Klamath River Sunday afternoon when the day took a near-fatal turn. One moment of inattention from their shuttle-bus driver from an Ashland rafting company sent the bus on a slow roll off a gravel access road and crushed the bus roof, injuring the 19 passengers and their driver and transforming their excursion from a fun day to one that could've ended in tragedy. "It was just a group of people who work in the same shop going on a rafting trip," says Tom Hottman, spokesman for the Cascade East Family Clinic in Klamath Falls, where most of the victims work. "But looking at the pictures of that bus, it certainly could have turned out that way." Six of the injured rafters were transported by ambulance and helicopter to various hospitals in the Rogue Valley. All but one have been treated for their injuries and released, according to hospital spokespersons. William Neil Mikulik, 52, of Beaverton, remained hospitalized Tuesday at Three Rivers Community Hospital in Grants Pass, says Lauren Van Sickle, Asante's regional spokeswoman. California Highway Patrol Officer Jason Chilton said Mikulik suffered a fracture in his neck. Van Sickle declined to verify Mikulik's injury, citing medical privacy laws. The rafters were on a Noah's River Adventures bus driven by Kathleen Akin, 52, of White City, who police said was distracted by comments from one of the passengers. When she replied, she lost control of the bus on the narrow, dirt road east of Copco Lake, according to CHP. The shuttle bus rolled slowly onto its roof about 15 feet down the embankment, crushing the roof and blowing out several window panels, according to CHP. "We got lucky, I think," Noah's owner Bart Baldwin says. "We could have easily been talking about a fatality." Akin was the only one wearing a seat belt, and it had to be cut before she was freed, the CHP reported. Akin was not cited at the scene and there has been no decision on whether she will face any charges or citations from a wreck that Chilton called a product of "inattention." Akin is a commercially licensed driver who started working last year for Baldwin, who called her "a 10 and 2" driver who is "probably the best driver we've had in years," he says. Original reports put the total injured at 22 and included rafting guides, but the guides were in a trailing vehicle with equipment, Baldwin says. Just moments after the wreck, one of the employees used a satellite telephone to call Baldwin, who says he immediately sent rescue crews to the scene. Rafting guides joined those rafters in the medical field to triage and help treat the injured until medical teams arrived, Baldwin says. Those included a 14-year-old Klamath Falls boy and Akin, CHP reports. The injuries ran the gamut from Mikulik's neck fracture to cuts from broken glass and bruises, according to CHP. The 14 people on the bus not transported were treated at the scene and refused transport, according to CHP, which originally put the number of transported rafters at seven. Hottman says the clinic and residency program that is on the Sky Lakes Medical Center campus in Klamath Falls is designed to get doctors to work on their family-practice specialties in more rural settings than the typical large-city programs. It's been producing rural doctors since it opened two decades ago, he says. The close call resonated through the close-knit clinic community, Hottman says. "People were kind of shaken up, and not just the people who were there," Hottman says. "We're really like a family here." Reach Mail Tribune reporter Mark Freeman at 541-776-4470 or [email protected] . Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MTwriterFreeman . By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman MailTribune.com By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune Follow @@MTwriterFreeman Posted Jun. 28, 2016 at 5:39 PM Updated Jun 28, 2016 at 5:47 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... Business Name address Location, ST | website.com Find Southern Oregon Attractions Bars Restaurants Beauty Salons Entertainment Doctors Medical Specialists Contractors Education Lawn Services Lawyers Shopping Travel Tanning Used Cars Wedding Services ▼ Add your business here + Events Calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2016 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. MailTribune.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501