Accident Database

Report ID#69677

2020-06-23
accident date
Jaspreet Turna
victim
28
victim age
Spokane (3. T.J. Menach Bridge in Spokane to Plese Flats
river
3. T.J. Menach Bridge in Spokane to Plese Flats (Lower)
section
People's Park
location
n/a
gage
High
water level
II
river difficulty
PFD Not Worn or Present
cause code(s)
Does not Apply
injury type(s)
Cold Water
factors
Private
trip type
Raft
boat type
status?
status

Description

Third Spokane River drowning victim in a week identifiedMon., June 29, 2020By Riley HaunThe Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified a man who drowned in the Spokane River last week. Jaspreet Turna, 28, drowned while rafting the river on June 23, the medical examiner said Thursday. His death was ruled an accident.Turna was floating the river with a group of friends when his tube struck a bridge support near People’s Park in Spokane, said Spokane Police Officer John O’Brien. Turna was thrown from the raft. At least one other member of the group unsuccessfully tried to rescue Turna, O’Brien said. Turna was not wearing a life jacket at the time of the accident.Turna’s death is one of three drownings in the Spokane River within the last week. On Friday, a 35-year-old Spokane Valley man drowned rescuing his wife and daughter from a capsized boat in Corbin Park near Post Falls. He jumped into the water without a life jacket.Less than 24 hours later, a 61-year-old Hauser Lake man drowned in the river at Corbin Park after rapids threw him and two children from a kayak. The children, who were wearing life jackets, survived. The man, who has not been identified by authorities, was not wearing a life jacket.O’Brien said Turna’s death is a tragic reminder that the Spokane River runs “fast and cold” during spring and summer, and of the importance of wearing life jackets while recreating on the river.