Accident Database

Report ID# 114822

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Accident Description

Man rescues woman from deadly Scott Co. kayaking accident

By Shelby Lofton

Updated: May. 6, 2021

SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - Following a deadly kayaking accident Wednesday night, we’re hearing from a man who witnessed the tragedy.

JC King said he helped rescue a woman, but sadly, her fiancée, identified as 26-year-old Edwardo Ponce, died in the accident. The Scott County coroner said both were kayaking in Elkhorn Creek when they went over the dam and were pulled underneath.

King was driving home from his carpenter job when he saw the accident about to happen. He saw Ponce and his fiancée heading over the Great Crossing Dam.  “He jumped out of his and she was still on hers and hers flipped sideways,” King said. “She was closer to the side and we got her out.”

King said the woman was pulled safely to shore. “As soon as I grabbed her, she just started saying ‘thank you,’ and screaming his name,” King said. He said Ponce was fighting to stay above water while logs and other debris hit him from all sides. “The last time he went under and I didn’t see him I knew it wasn’t good,” King said.

King said officials took off on a boat and dropped a rope overboard into the water. He said they caught Ponce when he was nearly under the bridge, and a fireman fell into the water trying to bring him to safety. “He went and got pinned up against the bridge with some wood and we all ran over there,” King said. “We walked back around and they had got him on the stretcher and had been doing CPR.”

According to the Scott County coroner, the 26-year-old was pronounced dead at 8 p.m. The coroner said the two kayakers were going to get married in July. “I just want to tell her how sorry I am and I wish I could’ve done more when I was there,” King said. King said he’ll see the creek differently for the rest of his life.

According to the US Geological Survey, the water level of the North Elkhorn Creek topped seven feet at the time of the accident after rounds of heavy rain.

Copyright 2021 WKYT. All rights reserved.

 

Kayaker identified in deadly Scott Co. accident

By WKYT News Staff

Published: May. 5, 2021

SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - One person has died and another was rescued after a kayaking accident near Great Crossing Park in Scott County Wednesday night, according to Scott County Coroner John Goble. A couple was kayaking in the North Elkhorn Creek and were close to the dam. Both of their individual kayaks turned over, sweeping them both into the water. Thee woman surfaced and crews were able to get her out. The man, Edwardo Ponce, 26, was submerged for a few minutes. He was pulled from the water and taken to Georgetown Community Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8 p.m.

Coroner Goble told WKYT the couple was engaged and getting married in July. Ponce was from Georgetown and his fiancée is from Lexington.

 

One dead in kayaking accident

By Mike Scogin Georgetown News-Graphic

May 5, 2021

A 26-year-old man died Wednesday afternoon when he fell from his kayak near Great Crossing Park, says Scott County Coroner John Goble. The man and his fiancée were each kayaking on Elkhorn Creek when both kayaks turned over, throwing both into the water.

The woman surfaced, but the man never did, Goble said. Both are believed to be from Lexington. Their identities have not been released pending notification of next of kin. The man’s body has been sent to the state examiner’s office for an autopsy.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife is handling the death investigation. The Scott County Sheriff’s Office and the Scott County Fire Department responded to the scene.

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