Tragic Accident

Saturday ended on a very tragic note:  A local woman was killed when her Jeep ran backwards in to the water and submerged in about 15 ft of water at a local restaurant.  This happened in full view of countless people and it submerged within feet of some of the many vessels moored at the restaurant.  There was a huge rush to attempt rescue by a large group of persons who witnessed the accident.  (The numbers of persons in the water in various states of sobriety and skill led to much confusion )  Captain Jones in our small "towboat" was underway only a few hundred yards away when the call went out and was on-scene within minutes.  He described the scene as "chaotic". Capt Tim McNitt (diver) having just been let off the towboat near-by was notified by me and headed for the scene.  At this point I am going to say first that I extend my most heartfelt sympathy to the victim's family for their most tragic loss, I will then refer you to the articles (with photo's)  that were released regarding the incident by the media.  If you choose to read them I would ask that you take the negative "comments" with regard to the Water Patrol's action with a great deal of skepticism and keep in mind when the "patrol" arrived on scene they did NOT have the benefit of having "witnessed" the incident and had to evaluate a scene which almost resembled a riot.  You may also note that many of the "accounts" are very unreliable.

1.  Lake Sun Leader article #1 and article #2,  article #3 (Water patrol response)

2.  LakeExpo.com article #1

Note:  As this posting is about a tragic and unfortunate loss I do not feel the need to add any additional photo's other than those published by the media.