70-year-old boater dies trying to save teen who crashed into bridge, TN officials say
A 70-year-old boater died trying to rescue an 18-year-old he found face-down in a Tennessee lake.
The man was driving his pontoon boat upstream in the Little River area of Fort Loudoun Lake on Saturday when the 18-year-old woman passed him on a personal watercraft, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
He continued driving and, a few minutes later, came across the same watercraft and the 18-year-old floating face-down in the water, the TWRA says
She had seemingly crashed the watercraft into a “concrete railroad bridge support,” the agency says.
The pontoon boat driver jumped in the water to try to save her but became “incapacitated by a medical emergency,” the TWRA says.
Nearby boaters who saw what happened pulled the two out of the water and performed CPR, the TWRA says.
But the 18-year-old and 70-year-old both died, officials say.
The TWRA is still investigating the incident and has not released the victims’ names “out of respect.”
“TWRA offers prayers and condolences for the victim’s families and would like to thank the Knoxville Police Dept., Knox Co. Fire and Rescue, and AMR emergency medical services for their assistance,” the TWRA wrote on Facebook.
This story was originally published June 6, 2021 at 11:10 AM with the headline "70-year-old boater dies trying to save teen who crashed into bridge, TN officials say."
