Accident Database

Report ID#67022

2003-07-16
accident date
Unidentified Man
victim
0
victim age
Olentangy River
river
Delaware Recycling Plant to Chapman Rd. pull-off
section
Winter Street Dam
location
1700 cfs
gage
High
water level
N/A
river difficulty
Caught in Low Head Dam Hydraulic
cause code(s)
Does not Apply
injury type(s)
High Water, One Boat Trip
factors
Private
trip type
Other
boat type
status?
status

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.