Are fatal drownings increasing in Rhode Island? Here's what you should know
Jason M. Robinson usually took a flat-bottom Jon boat when he ventured out onto ponds to go fishing.
But, on July 23, the 40-year-old from Cranston took a kayak – probably for the first time, according to his father – as he fished Olney Pond in Lincoln Woods State Park.
A little before 3 p.m. that day, Ashley R. Brown, of Cumberland, and Normand P. Lalumiere, of Woonsocket, were hiking near the shore of Sunset Point when they saw Robinson paddle by.
Brown noticed that he wasn't wearing a lifejacket. Lalumiere noticed he was using two types of fishing poles.
A few minutes later, the hikers saw Robinson's kayak capsized, with no sign of the fisherman. They hadn't heard splashing or cries for help or anyone swimming to the shore, according to a police report from which the details of this account were drawn. They called 911 and an emergency response involving lifeguards and police officers and firefighters from several towns kicked into motion.
No one saw what happened to Robinson.
Election 2022: RI candidates try to sway undecided voters. Here's how they are making their case
Almost two hours after he was last seen, divers found his body in 10 to 15 feet of water, tangled in fishing line that matched what he was using. He wasn't wearing a lifejacket.
His wife, Danielle Robinson, told investigators that Jason was a good swimmer, and noted that he had been treated for a seizure within the last few year.
When officers found his truck, a black Ford Ranger belonging to his father, Kenneth R. Robinson, they discovered two lifejackets in it.
Rhode Island landmark?: With clam shack's closing, last remnants of the Rocky Point Amusement Park are in limbo
How many people drown in Rhode Island
Robinson's is among 11 drowning deaths in Rhode Island so far this year, according to figures provided by the state Health Department.
(The department recently classified as a drowning the July 20 death of Ivandal Frederique, 18, of Woonsocket, in Slatersville Reservoir in North Smithfield.)
The 11 so far this year puts the state on pace for a typical year, at least in the time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
There had been eight or nine drownings a year in the three years before the pandemic, 2017 through 2019, according to the Health Department.
In 2020, there were 14, and in 2021, 19. If this year's drowning toll continues at the same rate, the total will end up at about 17.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Fatal drownings in Rhode Island trend up in summer 2022
