Accident Database: Accident #1064
| River: | Winooski | ||
| Section: | Middlesex to Waterbury | ||
| Location: | Duxbury | ||
| Relevant Photos: | WinooskiRiverVTaccident | ||
| Water Level: | High | ||
| Difficulty: | II | ||
| Accident Code(s): | No PFD | ||
| Injury Code(s): | Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal | ||
| Age: | 21 | ||
| Private/Commercial: | Private | ||
| Boat Type: | Open Canoe | ||
| Number of Occupants: | 2 | ||
| Number in Group: | 2 | ||
| Number of Victims: | 1 | ||
| Hazard Codes: | Water Temp | ||
| Initial Report: | Canoeist drowns after capsizing on Winooski River May 16, 2006 By Mel Huff Times Argus Staff
A little after noon Monday, the Vermont State Police Scuba Team recovered the body of 21-year-old Augustine Carbunari of Watertown, Mass. His body was found below Bolton Falls, where he disappeared Sunday afternoon when the canoe he and classmate Scott Wilson of Essex, Conn., were paddling overturned. Wilson managed to swim to shore. Neither of the men apparently had life jackets and it was unclear whether they had any canoeing experience on a day when the Winooski was challenging because of high waters. A memorial service was held Monday afternoon for Carbunari at St. Michael's College, where he was a political science major, rugby club member and bass guitar player. He was set to graduate Thursday. Carbunari's name will be read at the commencement ceremony, said Buff Lindau, speaking for the college. "We're trying to take guidance from his parents," she said. "They were going to come up in four days to celebrate his graduation." Carbunari's body was found in 23 feet of water near the place he was last seen about 4:20 p.m. Sunday. The water was cold – 52 degrees – with nearly no visibility, according to a state police report. Doug Veliko of Stowe Mountain Rescue said the two friends ran into rapids under a railroad bridge and their canoe capsized. Stowe Mountain Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue and the Vermont State Police helped recover Carbunari's body Monday. "They traveled down the river 200 yards," Veliko said of the two friends. Wilson was able to get into an eddy and make it to shore, but Carbunari disappeared. "The river is Class I water, Class II at most," Veliko observed, which is mild rapids, but "where he drowned the water was moving pretty fast. There was a good volume of water moving through there." The river was 100 yards wide at that point, he said, noting, "We strung a highline across it and had about 350 feet of rope out." He suggested that hypothermia might have played a role in Carbunari's death. The water was cold and Carbunari wasn't wearing a wetsuit. "He had blue jeans on and sneakers. Those weigh you down in the water and don't do much to keep you warm," Veliko said. "The first thing to be impaired is gross motor functions," Veliko noted. That could have affected Carbunari's ability to move his arms and legs. Another classmate, Andrew Chiaraluce, had paddled under the bridge in a kayak before his friends did. But canoes are tippier in white water than kayaks, said Gary Dillon, chief of the Waterbury Fire Department, which with the Waterbury ambulance was one of the first responders. The Vermont State Police, Richmond Fire and Rescue, Colchester Technical Rescue and Stowe Mountain Rescue also responded. "Last night when we got there, we were still in a rescue operation," Veliko said. The Stowe Mountain team checked the spots where finding a body was most probable. "We checked strainers and any upstream Vs, obstructions like a rock where people can get stuck, places where the river shallows down to a sandbar," Veliko said. "Someone may break free but be unconscious." When it got dark, they suspended the search and resumed it at first light Monday. "This morning we went back as recovery," Veliko said. "We repeated some of the shorework in case he had resurfaced. Then we got the boats out and did sweeps, and then the state police dive team got here. They wanted to put a diver in and work near the side of the shore while we were rigging a high line across the river so we could put a diver in the center of the river." Soon after, the state police diver located the body. "It's very sad for his family and his friends," Veliko said. "It's a terrible waste of a young life." Umiak Outdoor Outfitters in Stowe, a well-known paddling center, was advising people to stay off the rain-swollen river Sunday. "We weren't renting any boats that day because of the high water," said Steven Brownlee, Umiak's owner. "Fatalities that occur in this sport usually happen early in the season." Umiak runs a shuttle on the Winooski River upstream of Bolton Dam. People kayak and canoe below Bolton Dam regularly, but some have flipped their boats there, Brownlee observed, adding, "That's one section where an inexperienced boater can have trouble, particularly if there's high water." Sunday, he said, the rivers were at a very high level. Umiak's gauge upstream of the Bolton Dam was running at 4,000 cubic feet per second. Umiak stops renting canoes when it runs at 2,000 cubic feet per second. "We encourage anybody to call us," he said. "We're happy to tell them what the water level is." Brownlee advised every paddler to learn the "120 degree rule" – if the temperature of the water and the air added together totals less than 120 degrees, paddlers should wear a wetsuit to prevent hypothermia. And Brownlee strongly urged all paddlers to wear life vests regardless of the temperature. Neither of the two men were wearing personal flotation devices, and none were in their boats, according to police reports. If Carbunari had been wearing one, he would have floated high on the surface of the water and been visible, Brownlee said. Dillon, the Waterbury fire chief, said, "I don't think they were all that experienced. Anybody with experience wouldn't have been in there in a river that was flooded." The lesson he draws from Carbunari's death is, "Don't go in the water without a life preserver. Had he done one simple thing, and that is put on a life preserver, he'd probably be alive today." | ||
| Link: | http://www.timesargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060516/NEWS/605160370/1002 | ||
| Report Status: | Reported |
