It was a dangerous Fourth of July weekend on Georgia waterways as heavy holiday crowds took to lakes and rivers across the state. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources reported four drowning deaths statewide and 31 boating under the influence (BUI) citations during the July 3-5 holiday period.
Four drownings reported statewide
Two of the drownings occurred on Central Georgia’s Lake Sinclair.
On July 3, divers recovered the body of 34-year-old David Hoyt Glass in Baldwin County after a nearly 10-hour search. Game wardens responded before dawn after 911 callers reported hearing someone yelling for help from the water around 3:30 a.m. Using side-scan sonar, they found Glass’s body in about nine feet of water.
The following evening, 14-year-old Kayden Weather of Eatonton drowned while swimming near the designated swim area at Putnam Beach in Putnam County. Bystanders pulled him from the water and began CPR before emergency crews arrived. He was airlifted to Atrium Health Navicent Children’s Hospital in Macon, where he died July 5.
In Worth County, 51-year-old Leonard Latresse Polk of Albany drowned in a private pond after the tractor he was unloading overturned into the water. A nearby witness attempted to rescue him but was unsuccessful.
The fourth drowning occurred Sunday on Allatoona Lake in Bartow County. Game wardens said 28-year-old Fidel Ojwang of Lilburn entered the water from the back of a ski boat, went under and did not resurface. Search crews located his body just after midnight July 6 in about 60 feet of water using sonar and a remotely operated vehicle.
Multiple additional drownings were also reported on the South Carolina side of Lake Hartwell, including a 19-year-old from Jackson County, Georgia.
Lake Lanier incidents
Large holiday crowds also led to several boating incidents on Lake Lanier.
On July 3, a passenger was hospitalized with a leg injury after falling aboard a center console boat that struck a large wake near Mountain View Park in Hall County. Later that evening, two people were rescued after a large wake damaged a pontoon boat following a fireworks show. No injuries were reported.
On July 4, a cabin cruiser struck three boats while attempting to dock at Margaritaville after reportedly losing power. No one was injured, and investigators determined alcohol was not a factor.
Other boating accidents
Elsewhere across Georgia, two people were injured when a personal watercraft struck a wave on the St. Marys River in Camden County, throwing both riders into the water. Both were taken to a Jacksonville hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Lake Nottely in Union County, a 16-year-old was hospitalized with a leg injury after two personal watercraft collided Friday afternoon.
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