Accident Database

Report ID# 826

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  • Caught in Low Head Dam Hydraulic
  • PFD Not Worn or Present
  • Does not Apply
  • High Water
  • One Boat Trip

Accident Description

An unidentified man drowned on July 16th after his canoe flipped upstream of the 4’ high Winter Street Dam on the Olentangy River about 20 miles north of Columbus, Ohio. He apparently washed over the dam into the backwash; a second man swam ashore and survived. According to the Outdoor Adventure Club’s Mark Steinmetz, the flow was 1700 cfs, which he calls “high and pushy.” Neither man was wearing a PFD. The victim’s body was found two days later.

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