Two people were killed and at least three others were injured in a series of boating scares across Georgia over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, according to state game wardens. From Lake Lanier to Lake Sinclair and several other inland waterways, crashes and water rescues stacked up as emergency crews tried to keep pace with one of the busiest boating stretches of the year.
Lake Lanier Weekend Turns Rough For Several Boaters
On Lake Lanier alone, game wardens logged three separate incidents starting Friday, July 3. In the first, a 20-foot boat slammed into a massive wake at Mountain View Park, injuring a woman on board. Later, after fireworks near the Athens Boat Club, responders pulled two people from the water after a pontoon boat was rocked by a large wake. In a third case, a cabin cruiser lost power while trying to dock at Margaritaville and drifted into three other boats. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources detailed the incidents as reported by WSB-TV.
Two Holiday Weekend Drownings Prove Fatal
On Saturday, game wardens with the DNR recovered the body of 34-year-old David Hoyt Glass from about nine feet of water at Lake Sinclair. Witnesses told officers they heard someone calling for help in the pre-dawn hours before Glass was found. In a separate tragedy in Worth County, officials said 51-year-old Leonard Latresse Polk of Albany died after a tractor flipped off a trailer and rolled into a private pond. A nearby witness tried to pull Polk from the water but could not save him. Those details were provided by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and summarized by FOX 5 Atlanta.
DNR Tallies BUIs And Emergency Calls Statewide
Across Georgia, the DNR reported multiple other emergencies during the 48-hour holiday period. Wardens recorded 31 boating-under-the-influence stops statewide and responded to eight incidents that required DNR intervention, with Lake Lanier leading the pack for BUI cases. Agency officials and local partners said the numbers track with the heavy holiday traffic on Georgia waterways, and investigators are still working several crash and recovery scenes. WSB-TV reported the figures.
What Authorities Say Boaters Need To Watch For
Officials are using the bruising holiday numbers as a cautionary tale. They are urging boaters to slow down on crowded lakes, wear life jackets, keep an eye out for big wakes and skip risky maneuvers near congested docks and fireworks shows. The DNR also noted that mechanical failures and wake-related mishaps were factors in several of the weekend calls, according to reporting by FOX 5 Atlanta.
