Julia Nemeth and her sister, Jeane Carvalho, struggled in the churning, washing machine-like currents as an underwater dam sucked their floating tubes into a concrete wall.
The turbulent water bruised Nemeth’s back, and kept them from escaping. Carvalho could barely hold onto her phone when she called 911 from the Willamette River Aug. 9. Then they recorded a message to their loved ones.
For nearly 15 minutes, Nemeth and Carvalho feared toppling over and drowning in the force that held them. Then a rescue boat approached…