Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 2, 1994 TAG: 9409020067
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Marilyn Shelor said Charlton, 22, and her boyfriend, Rylan Green, had been canoeing only three or four times before their trip on Aug. 20. The couple was headed down the Roanoke River around 4 p.m. that day when their boat collided with a large tree limb that had fallen in the water.
Charlton was trapped underwater when the canoe flipped and got tangled in the limb's branches. Green ran for help, but Charlton was underwater for 10 minutes before rescuers were able to get her out of the water.
She wasn't breathing when rescuers freed her from the bent, metal canoe, but emergency crews were able to revive the 1990 Northside High School graduate.
Shelor said Charlton is listed in guarded condition at Lewis Gale Hospital. She is breathing on her own, but hasn't regained consciousness.
"We're hoping for the best," Shelor said.
Charlton is a clerk for First Union Bank and has been taking accounting classes at Virginia Western Community College, her sister said.
Shelor said Charlton, the youngest of six children, sometimes indicates that she hears family members talking to her.
One of the biggest reactions was when Charlton squeezed the hand of another sister who asked if she wanted to hear some of Michael Bolton's music, Shelor said.
Now Shelor is trying to figure out a way to persuade the popular rocker to visit Charlton's hospital room when he's in Roanoke for a Sept. 12 concert. "She's a huge fan of his," Shelor said.
by CNB