An Ohio man, Kevin Allen, 53, from Middletown, tragically passed away after a wakeboarding incident on Norris Lake, Tennessee, marking the state's 15th fatal boating accident this year. According to a release by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) as reported by WVLT, the incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday near the Hickory Point subdivision.
Allen was found unconscious on the boat and first responders, after receiving a distress call at 6:38, attempted CPR, but were unable to revive him and he was pronounced dead at the scene the TWRA noted that Allen had earlier been wakeboarding and after a fall, he managed to reboard the boat but soon after, he passed out; this information aligns with the details provided by another local outlet, WATE.
A witness informed wildlife officers that Allen had a pre-existing medical condition which might have contributed to the fatality, a detail confirmed in reports by both WATE and WBIR. Nevertheless, it is not yet clear whether his death was purely a result of the medical issue or if it was related to the boating activities.
The official cause of death for Allen is still pending and is to be determined by the medical examiner, as per the TWRA, a fact cited by WBIR in their coverage; this incident adds to a troubling trend on Tennessee waters which saw a similar fatality last week when a 58-year-old man died at the same lake after a collision with a boat and subsequently drowning, the TWRA has signaled an increased concern over the rising number of boating-related deaths this year.
