Accident Database: Accident #752
| River: | French Creek |
| Section: | Route 100 to French Creek Road |
| Injury Code(s): | Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal |
| Age: | 12 |
| Private/Commercial: | Private |
| Boat Type: | Open Canoe |
| Number of Occupants: | 2 |
| Number in Group: | 51 |
| Number of Victims: | 2 |
| Other Victim Names: | Krystal L. Titus |
| Hazard Codes: | Natural Strainer or Sieve |
| Initial Report: | Ages: 13, 14 |
| Summary: | Rachael E. Graham and Krystal L. Titus, both 12, drowned on a church-sponsored canoeing trip on French Creek in Pennsylvania on June 18, 2003. Little is known about the accident. The girls' parents considered filing a lawsuit against Allegheny River Canoe Rental of Franklin, alleging that the water was too high for safe canoeing that day, and that the girls were outfitted with ill-fitting adult-sized PFDs. The "high water" criticism is difficult to reconcile with the date; the USGS says that the river ran 176 cfs on 6-18-03, rising to 1370 and 2130 cfs on 6-20 and 6-21, respectively. The level on June 21 was the highest the stream had seen in four years. |
| Link: | http://www.thederrick.com/stories/07292003-2010.shtml |
| Report Status: | Incomplete |