42-year-old dies while trying to load boat at windy marina, Tennessee officials say
A man died while trying to load his boat in windy weather at a Tennessee marina, officials told news outlets.
The 42-year-old had backed his truck and trailer toward the boat and was trying to load the Bayliner cabin cruiser around 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Erwin Marina on Chickamauga Lake, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Witnesses told officials that strong winds were knocking the 30-foot boat around, and the man got out to try to keep it from hitting the rocks near the marina’s docks, The Chattanoogan reported. He wasn’t wearing a life jacket.
The man then disappeared and witnesses called 911, WTVC reported, citing the TWRA.
Several agencies responded to the marina, and the man’s body was “quickly located” in about 4 feet of water, officials said, according to the outlet. His body was taken to the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s office.
The man’s name will not be released until his family has been notified, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported.
Officials told The Chattanoogan that “this is the 26th boating-related fatality this year.”
No other information had been released as of the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 2.
Chickamauga Lake is “a 36,200-acre reservoir with 810 miles of shoreline,” according to the TWRA’s website. It “lies within Rhea, Meigs, Bradley, and Polk counties in the south eastern portion” of Tennessee.
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