Woman Swept Down MoVal Storm Channel During Rainstorm, Rescued by Firefighters

MORENO VALLEY (CNS) - A homeless woman who attempted to cross a storm
channel in Moreno Valley after a thunderstorm swelled the spillway was swept
away today, floating downstream for nearly a mile before she was rescued.
   The victim was reported in chest-high waters in the Perris Valley
Channel, near the intersection of Alessandro Boulevard and Heacock Street,
about 1:25 p.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department.
   Sheriff's deputies were called to the area first and spotted the woman
floating southbound in a shopping cart, according to reports from the scene.
   Fire crews initiated a swift-water rescue and began trying to get
ahead of the woman, as she was dragged in 15 mph waters toward the Perris
Reservoir.
   A battalion chief said firefighters tossed a line to the victim
several times, and she was ultimately able to grab hold of the end of it about
1:55 p.m., somewhere between Heacock and Indian streets.
   The unidentified woman was taken to Riverside University Medical
Center with unspecified injuries.