By Michael Bennett
Local Journalism Initiative
The Ridgetown Independent News
A pair of Leamington-area siblings, with roots in Chatham-Kent, are being regarded as heroes following a Lake Erie rescue of a jet-ski rider off Point Pelee on the night of July 8.
Cal, 15, and Lyla Kivell, 14, are credited with saving the life of a 39-year-old Brampton man who had fallen off his personal watercraft off the east side of Point Pelee around 8:30 p.m.
Lyla was playing guitar in her bedroom of the family home on East Beach Road – between Point Pelee National Park and the Hillman Marsh on the east side of the point – when she looked out the window and saw a man struggling in the water beside a Sea-Doo.
She ran into her brother Cal’s room to let him know what she saw and then called 9-1-1.
Cal, who has taken lifeguard lessons for two years, jumped in the water and began swimming toward the victim.
“I can tell if someone’s a non-swimmer in a situation like that,” Cal said, as he could see from shore the man was wearing a life jacket but was struggling to stay above water.
He donned a life jacket and grabbed a second one before jumping into the water.
Cal thought the man was about 200 yards from shore, “but when I started swimming, I realized this guy was way further out than I expected.”
“I was swimming for about 15 minutes, and when I finally got to him, I was pretty exhausted,” said Cal.
Once he reached the victim, he asked for his name, if he was alone, and if he was hurt.
“I made sure I told him I was a lifeguard in training, which is what we were taught to say in a situation like this,” stated Cal.
Cal said the man kept trying to get back on the jet-ski, “but I told him to let it go, it was pulling him under.”
“He had a life jacket on, which was the scariest part because he was still going under,” said Cal. “I think he was a bit in shock, so I was trying to keep him calm.”
Once the man did regain his focus, he kept thanking Cal for saving his life.
“He was like, ‘Thank you so much, you’re such an angel, you saved my life,’” Cal recalled.
However, the two still had a bit of an adventure getting back to shore, as the water was choppy, with waves coming from all directions.
They also had to fight the current, which was pushing them towards Wheatley, as they drifted about half a kilometre.
Cal used the second life jacket to pull the bigger and heavier man to shore, where OPP officers were waiting and helped pull the pair out of the water and over the shoreline rockpile.
The man, who reportedly was in the area working on the Gordie Howe International Bridge, was with friends who wanted to rent jet skis, but the others changed their minds. However, he decided to venture out onto the lake alone.
The man, who did not give his name, agreed to have a picture taken with the Kivell siblings and OPP officers before getting a ride back to Wheatley to get to his car.
The OPP officers acknowledged the Kivells for their heroic actions, as did MP David Epp, who later in the week met with the family and presented the siblings with a certificate.
“My mom was a lifeguard, my sister and I want to be ones too,” said Cal. “We feel it’s important to be safe in the water.”
Cal and Lyla’s parents are Lindsay (nee Cooper) and Graham Kivell, both from Chatham, where the children were born.
The grandparents are also from Chatham – Jill and Kim Cooper, Sherry and Vaughn Kivell, of Kivell’s Piano Parlour.
