JAMES RIVER CLAIMS PADDLER AT WILLLAMS DAM Running Williams Dam proved fatal for canoeist Andy Kasen, 21, son of Best Products, President/CEO. He was running tandem with a friend who narrowly escaped the same fate. Two other friends opted to portage the dam. The April 6th incident happened within sight of a sign warning of dangerous hydraulics beneath the dam, noting that 14 others had already drowned there. Kasen and Miller made it over the dam (between Huguenot Bridge and Pony Pasture Park) but the current pulled their canoe sideways toward the dam and swamped it. “I told them, “Man, you’re crazy to go over that,” a stunned friend said. “They thought they were going to be big shots and go across.” She then watched helplessly as their friends struggled, then disappeared under water. The river level at the Westham gage was 7.18, a medium level. SOURCE: Coastal CaNews ANALYSIS: Dams are dangerous, and the problems with this particular dam are well-documented. While warning signs clearly have limitations, in this case they may have saved the life of the second boatload of paddlers.