KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Lee’s Summit resident Blake Vaughn and his family are new to boating.
Despite windy conditions Saturday, Vaughn and his family decided to take their 20-foot MasterCraft out on Longview Lake for some fishing and fun in the sun.
It’s a decision that turned Vaughn into something of a hero — even if he disagrees.
Vaughn rescued four people, including two small children and a woman with cerebral palsy, after their boat capsized on the lake.
“It was very windy,” Vaughn said. “We were just coming in to trailer our boat and the gentlemen in the green tank top was standing on the shoreline screaming at us. … I heard him say, 'I got my wife and my kids and my dad over here. Our boat flipped over.’ So, we just kind of huddled over just to see what had happened and sure enough they were hanging on a tree."
Vaughn relaunched his boat and went to the family’s aid.
“We anchored up, kind of backed into them and pulled them into the boat,” Vaughn said. “It was pretty simple really. It was just kind of a right-place-at-the-right-time kind of deal. We’re just lucky we chose to come out to the water today.”
Accordint to a Missouri State Highway Patrol online incident report, the capsizing occurred in the Mouse Crek arm of Longview Lake around 6:30 p.m.
Three Kansas City, Missouri, residents — Shandell Rossignol, 48, a 2-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl — were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries.
All three were wearing life jackets.
The family’s Johnboat became disabled by motor issues and the vessel was swamped by rough waters, according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“It was kind of scary,” said Chris Wilke, a Belton resident who was fishing at a nearby dock and called 911. “He said he had some kids. … I didn’t know if he was joking or not, but to have little kids on the water, I was worried for their lives.”
Vaughn said the kids who had been on the capsized boat were understandably scared.
“I don't know how long they had been in the water, but you could tell they were very cold,” he said. “We got them out, put some towels around them and got them in the boat then got them over here to paramedics.”
Vaughn said getting the mother into the boat was difficult because of her condition, “but in a situation like that you just kind of get it done,” he said.
It all sounds pretty heroic, even if Vaughn said he didn’t feel like a hero.
“I’m glad everybody was safe,” Vaughn said. “I’m glad we could be there and take care of it.”
