Lake Allatoona tragedy

[hemidoc]

Man drowns as wife and kids watch. Just sad this was totally avoidable. He should have been wearing a PFD and his family should have been educated to throw him a PFD when they saw him in trouble. The worst part has to be the kids watching their dad die.
From the AJC
http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/cherokee/stories/2008/10/18/drowning_lake_allatoona.html

A 32-year-old man drowned Saturday afternoon in Lake Allatoona in Cherokee County as he swam around a boat with his wife and children aboard, authorities said.

The man disappeared in the water about 4:30 p.m. near the Victoria Day Use area, a popular marina.
The victim, whose name was not immediately released, was from Colorado and out on a boat owned by a friend, said Cherokee County Fire Department spokesman Tim Cavender.

He was swimming circles around the boat when he appeared to become fatigued, and struggled to return, Cavender said. The water temperature was about 68 degrees, he said.

The Cherokee County Fire Department dive team, sheriff?s office and state Department of Natural Resources searched for the victim?s body. Divers were pulled from the water at about 7:30 p.m. DNR boats with sonar continued looking late into the night.

The divers were expected to return to the water about 9 a.m. Sunday if the victim is not found before then.

It was this year?s fifth drowning in Lake Allatoona and the first in the Cherokee County part of the lake.

Please let's try to keep it safer out there by educating others esp people that borrow or rent boats

 

[ne7800]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

thats so sad

 

[Splat]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Sounds like it could have been co poisoning.

Bill

 

[hemidoc]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Sounds like it could have been co poisoning.

Bill

Doesn't say the boat was running but if was idling that's possible. But most anyone will have the engine off while in the water

 

[lkbum]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Hind sight is 20/20, but if they why didn't they through him the "throwable" pfd. Required by law in Georgia to have one within reach. Very sad.....

 

[Splat]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Doesn't say the boat was running but if was idling that's possible. But most anyone will have the engine off while in the water

True and it also doesn't state the type of boat. They could have had a generator going running climate control or possibly making food.

Too many variables and not enough details.

Bill

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I think part of the problem may be the age. You feel young enough that you can swim if anything happens. I'm 36 and I know I could swim a mile easily if needed. However, I can't if I'm unconscious, injured, etc. Regardless of what happened to him, a PFD would have substantially increased his survival rate.

Another possibly avoidable accident. I feel sorry for this person, his family and his children being exposed to this.

 

[dave11]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I lived in the area for a while (It seemed like a lifetime). He wasn't from "there". That is why none of the locals helped him.

 

[lkbum]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I lived in the area for a while (It seemed like a lifetime). He wasn't from "there". That is why none of the locals helped him.

I am from "there".. There were no locals near by.... That was really an intelligent post dave11.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Those who have read my posts on the matter know that I am pretty adamant about PFDs. This one, however, I think is a bit different. A 32 year old man swimming in a lake along side a stationary boat doesn't strike me as unusual or particularly dangerous. In fact, I think people do this sort of thing all the time, without ill effect.

What we don't know from the article, is the man's general physical condition. We also don't know if the water temperature played a role. I'm thinking there is more to this than is currently known.

I do agree that it should have been an easy thing to throw him a Type IV (throwable) PFD. Even a long boat hook might have done the job. If there were none in the boat, or those in the boat didn't know enogh to use them, it just adds to the tragedy.

 

[oops!]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

this is a terrible totally avoidable tragedy.....

in my boat....any one that enters the water....(over there head) wears a life jacket......no exceptions...none.....

anything can happen...a pfd will give a rescue a chance

 

[marine4003]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Doesn't say the boat was running but if was idling that's possible. But most anyone will have the engine off while in the water

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA...I guess you've never boated around myrtle beach..where its mandatory to swim w/ kids around a boat w/motor running, i'm not kidding,this year alone i saw at least 40 times where operators jeopardized family with STUPID tricks,I'm sorry for the family of the drowning victim,rack it up as another reason to have mandatory C.G. sponsored classes prior to being allowed to operate a boat.

 

[tmh]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

Maybe the guy had a heart attack and died or something like that. C'mon you guys, let's not pass judgment on something we know little about. Sating it was "avoidable" is just the same as saying it was stupid. Heck, we swim off the boat (with the boat off of course) all the time - no life jackets - stay close to the boat - why not???? Over your head!?!?! Good grief - get out and live a little. Swimming is ALWAYS done in water over your head - ever hear of a SWIMMING POOL!!!!!

Again, this may or may not have been avoidable. Yeah, if a family stayed in their home with no sharp furniture and padded walls maybe they'd all be OK still. Swimming is normal - around a boat with people in it is safe. Lots of current? Then maybe not - otherwise, we do it, we will continue to do it. The law of averages sometimes takes someone for no good reason. There is NO activity that hasn't seen a tragic outcome at some point. S--T HAPPENS.

 

[eavega]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I heard about this on the radio on Monday, and all I could think was that it was too cold to go swimming. We had a front blow through on Friday last week, and the air temps were in the upper 50's-low 60's all day, with a wind blowing. I just remember doing rescue diver certification during the winter in Fl when I was much younger. It wasn't cold, but the water temp was about 75 degrees, air temp about the same, wind blowing. After a half hour in and out of the water, you just couldn't get warm, and the fatigue would set in faster and faster between exercises. Hypothermia has a funny way of sneaking up on you, and all of a sudden overwhelming fatigue sets in. That and possibly muscle cramps. A combination of the two could probably disable you long enough to go under.

Truly a tragedy, and shows that even small miscalculations on the water can have dire consequences.

-Eric

 

[dave11]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I am from "there"..

People would ask me where I lived. "Fifty miles and fifty years Northwest of Atlanta" is what I would tell them.

 

[lkbum]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

People would ask me where I lived. "Fifty miles and fifty years Northwest of Atlanta" is what I would tell them.

Yes, it's funny how people move into an area, and make assumptions about the "locals" and their ways.. I am a native Atlantan, have a degree in Thermodynamics/Compressible Fluid Dynamics and currently work with Physicians worldwide developing medical devices ( I currently hold 9 patents in that field). BUT..... when people who don't know me that well, or my background, hear my southern accent they assume I am some barefoot rube from "Jawja" and go on to make incredibly strong prejudice statements based soley on my accent. I, and I am sure your past neighbors, are probably glad you have moved on, because, frankly we don't care how it was done where you are from. It would appear, someone that is 50 years ahead of the curve could have 1) either made a killing off these backwards people, or 2) been smart enough to avoid the place. And I stand by my previous post that states that your post was probably the dumbest post I have ever read on any board, not mention classless.

 

[bassboy1]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I lived in the area for a while (It seemed like a lifetime). He wasn't from "there". That is why none of the locals helped him.

I call BS. I am from "there," and just so happened to be on the lake merely 2 hours before it happened. Will be on that lake this weekend too. Were I or anybody in the group I was with (we were doing a service project for the corps) in the vicinity, I guarantee every last one of us would have helped.

What surprises me, is that Allatoona seems to have more drowning fatalities than many of the other large lakes around. Don't hear of nearly as many from Lanier, Weiss, Carters, or others around the South East.

Technically speaking, I am an Atlanta native. Was born there, and lived in Decatur for 5 months, but then have grown up in Cartersville, which is where I usually tell people I am from. My dad lived in Atlanta from the time of his birth till we moved out when I was 5 months old. I much prefer the small town (although it is quickly going away from that in the last 2 years) life, and hate the assumptions people would get about being from Atl. Don't at all mind the small town hick assumptions many would get, as I grew up barefoot in the country, with dogs, chickens, goats and horses. And, just as soon as I can get out of the middle of this "small town," I will heading right back to the outskirts of a "small town" where I can again have dogs, chickens, goats and horses.

 

[marine4003]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I attempted to find a follow-up on the story..to no avail, but whether or not locals might of been able to help or not,the entire story is not available,so, speculation is fruitless,anything you do, has its risks.compare drownings to taking a drive in the country for a picnick...statistically i'm sure you'll find the driving has a far higher fatality rate, but it sounds so benign compared to a day boating. And as a relocated northerner, 18 yrs, i find it very amusing when people stereotype southerers,or northerners for that matter...amusing? yup.last time i checked we ALL live in AMERICA.

 

[lkbum]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

According to the local media, he just went for a swim off the platform. Swam around the boat and was gone. By the time the passengers realized he was gone, it was too late. No calls for help, and certainly no "locals" ignored the situation. The news footage showed several boats searching the lake (not just the authorities). On a lighter note, I love to tease the "yankees" and vice versa. Had a physician from Boston send me a pair of shoes once, said he wondered if I had ever seen any before ( I had only spoken to him on the phone)..... But I certainly don't insult them by implying they would let someone DIE because they weren't a local.

 

[dave11]

Re: Lake Allatoona tragedy

I may not have a degree in thermodynamics, but I did graduate cum laude with a BBA. I lived there long enough so that I don't have a stereotype of Southerners. I don't have any problem with Southerners. It is only the Cartersvillans.