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Accident Database: Accident #515

River: Ocoee
Section: Middle
Location: Table Saw
Water Level: Medium
Difficulty: III
Accident Code(s): Unusual
Injury Code(s): Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal
Age: 53
Experienced/Inexperienced: Experienced
Private/Commercial: Private
Boat Type: Open Canoe
Number of Occupants: 1
Number of Victims: 1
Initial Report: East Tennessee's Ocoee River was the site of fatality on August 8th. A Chattanooga Times article reported that an open canoeist flipped at Tablesaw Rapid. The paddler, who friends say was a very experienced riverman, bailed out and swam. A rope was thrown, but he could not grab hold. He barely made it to shore before he collapsed. His partner, a doctor, began treatment immediately. The victim was transported to a hospital in Chattanooga where he died the next day. An autopsy revealed that a brain aneurysm, not related to the river, was the cause of death. His name is being withheld at his family's request.
Detailed Description:

Southeast Tennessee ’s Ocoee River is the most popular Class III+ run in the Southeast. A 53-year-old man drowned on August 8, 1998 after his canoe flipped at Tablesaw Rapid. A friend saw him leave his boat and threw him a rope, but he made no move to get it. Instead, he swam weakly to shore and collapsed in the rocky shallows. A river guide was first on the scene. When his companion, a medical doctor, reached him, he had no pulse. Another doctor joined him as he began CPR. He was taken to a local hospital, then transferred to a medical center where he died the next day. The cause of death was a massive cerebral aneurysm, unrelated to his activity on the river.

 

 

 

SOURCE: rec.boats.paddle; phone conversation with Dr. Powell

 

Report Status: Completed