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Accident Database: Accident #935
| River: | Yakima |
| Section: | Confluence with Teanaway River to Thorp |
| Location: | Bristol Flats Spillway |
| Accident Code(s): | PFD fell off |
| Injury Code(s): | Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal, Fatal |
| Age: | 6 |
| Private/Commercial: | Private |
| Boat Type: | Raft |
| Number of Occupants: | 4 |
| Number in Group: | 4 |
| Number of Victims: | 1 |
| Hazard Codes: | Low Head Dam |
| Summary: | A six-year old girl was killed on August 25th after her father, her brother and his friend rafted past warning signs on the Yakima River below Ellensburg, WA. The SeattleTimes reported that the group then ran the Bristol Flats Spillway, an irrigation structure that was responsible for three other deaths this year alone. Dam management recommends a 50-yard portage, and their personnel spend hours each day warning people not to run the dam. Both men had run the dam without incident previously. They swam ashore safely when their boat flipped. The water tore the life vest off Madison Gail, 6, and pulled her under water. Her body was recovered several miles downstream. A brother, 4, was pulled ashore by his father. Revived with CPR, he was taken to the hospital in critical condition. |
| Link: | http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/37398_drown01.shtml |
| Report Status: | Incomplete |
