Whitewater Accidents Reported to AW January-June 2010

The AW database collects accounts of fatal paddlesport accidents and near-misses in fast moving water. So far this year there were 14 Kayaks,11 Canoes, 4 Commercial Rafts and 9 Private Rafts involved in 31 accidents and 34 deaths nationwide. Although there were more kayaking fatalities than usual, only 5 involved members of the mainstream U.S. whitewater community. Increasingly, the victims are newcomers in recreational designs. Rafting deaths were often linked to high water. Surprisingly, guide trainees and other company employees lost their lives in three of the four incidents. The primary causes were as follows: No PFD's carried or worn - 10, caught by a Low-Head Dam hydraulic - 7, Flush Drownings - 8, and Strainer Pins - 4. Distribution by state: Colorado - 5, California - 3. Six other states had 2 reportable fatalities each. Breaking with stereotypes, men over the age of 40 lost their lives in 20 of the deaths.

PLEASE SEND ANY CORRECTIONS OR ADDITIONS TO:
Charlie Walbridge, American Whitewater Safety Editor - ccwalbridge at cs.com

*Whitewater Accidents Reported to American Whitewater* *Jan-June 2010*
Date	ST	Name	Age	Boat	River	Section	Class	Cause
		*Don’t add your name to the list!*
2010-06-27	OK	Aaron Reed	24	Canoe	Mountain Fork River			??
2010-06-27	SD	Jeremy Rogers, Sierra Rogers, Andrew Korth	38, 11, 26	Canoe	Belle Fourche River		X	Low Head Dam
2010-06-25	CO	Milton Crosby, Lon Mills	79, 74	Raft	Arkansas River	Salida to Rincon	III	No PFD, Low Head Dam
2010-06-24	ID	Michael Blankartz	28	Canoe	Spokane River	Post Falls Dam to State Line	II	PFD Not Worn
2010-06-23	CO	Patrick Bush	66	Comml Raft	Eagle River	Dowd Chutes	IV	Flush Drowning
2010-06-22	IL	Adam Stapleton	32	Kayak	Salt Creek			Strainer
2010-06-21	CA	Grady l. Singletary	47	Comm Raft	Kaweah River	Park Boundary to Dinley Bridge	IV	Blunt Force Trauma
2010-06-19	IN	Fred DiGenova	43	Kayak	Eel River		X	Low-Head Dam
2010-06-14	CA	Timothy “Bo” James	53	Kayak	Brush Creek	Rincon Camp to Kern R	IV	Flush Drowning
2010-06-14	CA	Dr. Leon Wescombe (Australian)	29	Kayak	Middle Fork Cosumnes R.	FS Route 9N60 to Mt. Aukum Rd	IV	Likely Entrapment
2010-06-12	UT	Lawrence Evero	47	Raft	Colorado River	Rose Ranch to Moab	II	Flush Drowning
2010-06-12	ND	Unidentified Man	40	Canoe	Kettle River		IV	No PFD
2010-06-09	MT	James Dewhurst	55	Comm Raft	Rock Creek (Missoula Co)	Mid & W Fk, conf. to Clark Fork R		No PFD, Wearing waders
2010-06-05	CO	William Spang	48	Raft	Eagle River	Dowd Chutes	IV	Flush Drowning
010 06-04	ID	Michael Fitzpatrick	59	Raft	Middle Fork Salmon River	Dagger Falls to Cache Bar	IV	Flush Drowning
2010-05-30	CO	Robert Reiter	20	Raft	Piedra River	1st Fork Bridge to Lower Piedra CG	IV	Strainer
2010-05-30	CO	Nikki Innes	22	Raft	Arkansas River	Buena Vista to Fisherman's Br.	III	Strainer
2010-05-24	OK	Derek Richardson	31	Kayak	Arkansas River	In Tulsa, OK		No PFD, Low head dam
2010-05-15	PA	Tom Bonafini	59	Kayak	Stonycreek	Canyon Third Ugly Sister	III	Heart attack
2010-05-04	VA	Ryan Schultz	22	Kayak	Shenandoah River	Near Shannondale Springs WMA		?? Solo Paddler
2010-05-03	KY	Robert Archer	55	Kayak	Green River			Strainer, High water
2010-04-24	UT	2 Unidentified Men	20’s	Raft	North Fork Virgin River	Zion Narrows	IV	No PFD
2010-04-07	VA	Mark Grand	51	Kayak	North Fork Shenandoah R.	Above Shenandoah Caverns	X	Low Head Dam
2010-04-01	PA	George Lockey Jr.	62	Kayak	Red Moshannon	Peale Bridge to W Br. Susquehanna	II	Massive Stroke
2010-03-25	NH	Alan Benjamin	65	Kayak	Connecticut River	Near Hanover, NH		No PFD, Solo Paddler
2010-03-22	MO	Wesley Wood	17	Canoe	Shoal Creek	Near Neosho, MO	X	Low Head Dam
2010-03-22	WV	Allan Keith Stewart	52	CommlRaft	Cheat River	Canyon	IV	Flush Drowning, Health Problems
2010-03-21	NJ	Robert Baldwin	58	Canoe	Delaware River	Lambertville Wing Dam	III	Flush Drowning, Hypothermia
2010-03-20	MA	Edward Lynde	53	Kayak	Green River	Near Greenfield, MA		Strainer
2010-03-16	MA	Jimmy O'Brien	47	Kayak	Hubbard Brook	Granville S.P. to Route 20	V	bad hydraulic
2010-03-07	OR	Unidentified Man	?	Canoe	Willamette River	Near Springfield, OR		Flush Drowning, Hypothermia
2010-02-27	NH	Cassandra Ray	21	Canoe	Exeter River	In Raymond, NH		Washed Under Ice
2010-01-14	Ecuador	Chad Stoner (American)	36	Kayak	Anzu River		III	Equipment trap, S-skirt Snagged