Accident Database

Report ID#67100

2000-04-23
accident date
Unidentified Man
victim
0
victim age
Des Plaines River
river
n/a
section
n/a
location
n/a
gage
n/a
water level
N/A
river difficulty
Caught in Low Head Dam Hydraulic
cause code(s)
Does not Apply
injury type(s)
Solo Paddling
factors
Private
trip type
Other
boat type
status?
status

Description

On April 23rd a man was killed when his powerboat stalled out in the fast moving Des Plaines River and went over Hoffman Dam. The man was killed; his wife clung to a tree branch and was rescued. John Nelson, who sent in the report, says you can see a warning sign perched on the lip of the dam in news reports. He thinks it ought to say, “If you can read this, you’re too dam close!”