A tragic incident unfolded on Center Hill Lake near DeKalb County, Tennessee, where a 57-year-old Brentwood woman, identified as Marybeth Foran, was killed in a boating accident, according to the WSMV. The DeKalb County Fire Department and other emergency agencies responded to the call near Hurricane Marina on Thursday evening where Foran was found unconscious in the water, trapped under a ski boat by the inboard engine propeller.
In a statement obtained by WKRN, officials said that the emergency first responders found the boat operator, an adult male, in the water attempting a rescue as crews discovered Foran, she had already succumbed to the traumatic injury and was declared dead at the scene, despite the efforts from the Putnam County Rescue Squad's Dive Team and staff from Hurricane Marina who provided pontoons and helped with regulating boat traffic around the scene.
The investigation led by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency revealed that the accident occurred when Foran jumped into the water to retrieve an item that had fallen overboard, according to WSMV. "The female passenger went into the water to try to retrieve the hat," Captain Roy Smith of TWRA said, "Unbeknownst to her, the vessel was still in gear and she made contact with the propeller and ultimately it was a fatal incident."
Multiple agencies contributed to the emergency response, including the Smithville/DeKalb County Rescue Squad, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, DeKalb County Emergency Medical Service, DeKalb County Sheriff's Department and the support from Hurricane Marina staff as stated in the reports from NewsChannel 5; this incident marks the 13th boating-related death on Tennessee waterways in the year 2025.
