Mira Seagram has been given the OPP Commissioner’s Citation for Lifesaving after she was involved in rescuing three people that were involved in a fatal, two-boat crash on Lake Rosseau on July 14, 2021.
During a ceremony Wednesday awarding her and others with award, it was explained that Seagram was close by when the boats were involved in a head-on crash.
“One of the vessels capsized while the other was circling out of control,” the presenter explained during the ceremony. “Several occupants had been in the water with several struggling and calling for help.”
Seagram was in a boat with others and heard the crash. They were able to pull two victims from the water. One, according to the presenter, had significant injuries, including a broken shoulder.
Two other separate groups were involved in rescuing other victims and will be honoured in a ceremony later this year. They helped gain control of the out-of-control boat using a tow rope and rescued an 11-year-old boy from the water.
“This was an extremely difficult scene,” the presenter said.
The crash left multiple people with serious injuries, according to press releases from the Bracebridge OPP on July 14 and 15. A 13-year-old youth from Toronto was pronounced dead at the scene, while police recovered the body of 51-year-old Donna Wiley from Oakville the next day.
There were three people in each boat. The responding police officers were able to rescue a fourth person, on top of the three rescued by Seagram and other good samaritans.