Death Reported During First Weekend of Gauley Season Gauley rafting season got off to a deadly start. One man died while rafting on Saturday, just one day into the season. Chief Ranger Gary Hartley says 40-year-old Eric Clark of Circleville, Ohio died of what appears to be cardiac arrest. Monday September 14, 2009 Ohio man killed in WVa rafting accident by The Associated Press SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. (AP) – An Ohio man has died after he was knocked into the Upper Gauley River while on a whitewater rafting trip. Eric Clark, 40, of Circleville, Ohio, was pronounced dead at Summersville Memorial Hospital on Saturday. Chief Ranger Gary Hartley of the New River Gorge National River says Clark was rafting on the Upper Gauley with a tour group. A wave knocked four rafters and a guide into the water. All five managed to get back onto boats, but Hartley says Clark apparently went into cardiac arrest at that point.