Crime & Safety

6 BUIs on Lake Lanier, 3 Die in Georgia Waters Over Labor Day Weekend

The deaths happened in Amicalola Creek near Dawsonville, Red Top Mountain State Park in Cartersville and the Savannah River near Augusta.

There were three deaths on public waters across Georgia this Labor Day holiday weekend, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. 

Two of the fatalities were on Sunday, including a 45-year-old Atlanta man who died in Amicalola Creek near Dawsonville. 

Also, a 23-year-old Atlanta man died after jumping off a boat near the Red Top Mountain State Park swim beach in Cartersville.

The third death happened on Saturday after the body of a 61-year-old man who went missing on the Savannah River near Augusta was recovered at about 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the river, according to the DNR Law Enforcement Division.

Ralph Edward Taylor of Augusta was paddling in a kayak with two companions, also in kayaks. The two went around the side of an island where the rapids were more challenging. Taylor went down the other side. The companions later spotted his empty kayak. A Richmond County Water Rescue dive team member found his body in the water the next morning. The investigation is continuing. The search included DNR and the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Department.

Statewide, there were four other boating incidents, two involved personal watercraft (PWC), and one included minor injuries.

On Lake Lanier, a PWC hit a metal object in the water in the mouth of Shoal Creek Sunday, puncturing a hole in the hull and throwing the operator into the windshield.

A PWC operator was hurt Sunday while jumping a boat wake on the Skidaway River in Chatham County. The operator was taken to Memorial Hospital in Savannah with a cut on his forehead.

As for the BUIs, DNR rangers reported 18 statewide, including six at Lanier, two on Lake Sinclair, two on Lake Jackson, and one each at lakes Oconee, West Point and Clark’s Hill. The BUI total for the holiday weekend is up compared to 2012 (six BUIs) and 2011 (nine).

The report totals are from Friday, Aug. 31 to Monday, Sept. 2.


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