GA Toddler Dead In Boating Accident Over July 4 Weekend

Updated 4:32 p.m.

A 4-year-old girl was among the people who were killed in boating and road accidents during the July 4th weekend, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources said Monday.

The girl was one of 12 passengers who went into the water after a pontoon boat overturned around 10:15 p.m. Friday at Lake Oconee in Putnam County, authorities said.

A large wave in front of the boat caused the passengers to panic and run toward the back of the boat, leading the vessel to capsize, authorities said.

While rescuing the passengers from the water, authorities said it was determined the young girl was missing but was wearing a personal flotation device.

After a former lifeguard dove under the boat and found the girl, authorities said a first responder gave her CPR. Shortly after, emergency medical personnel took the girl to Putnam General Hospital before she was flown to the Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, authorities said.

The girl died either late Sunday night or early Monday morning, authorities said. She was not identified.

The incident was one of several mishaps on Georgia waters.

Additionally, road crashes claimed the lives of 13 people, while at least 433 people were charged with driving under the influence, the Georgia Department of Public Safety said.

On The Road

As of early Monday morning, 13 people had been killed in crashes during the July 4th weekend, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources in a running total.

The state department's Independence Day travel period began at 6 p.m. Thursday and ended at 11:59 p.m. Sunday in Georgia.

The DNR reported the following fatalities:

• Georgia State Patrol worked a crash with a fatality in Crisp County.
• South Fulton authorities worked a crash with a fatality.
• Hall County authorities worked a crash on with two fatalities.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Paulding County.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Bryan County.
• Burke County authorities investigated a crash with a fatality.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Stewart County.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Baker County.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Jeff Davis County.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Spalding County.
• Jones County authorities investigated a crash with a fatality.
• GSP investigated a crash with a fatality in Lincoln County.

More than 400 people were charged with driving under the influence, and 610 people were charged with distracted driving, according to the DNR.

There were 203 crashes, and dozens of people were injured, authorities said. Of those, as of Sunday, 29 crashes were the result of drivers being under the influence, authorities said.

At least 1,000 people received seatbelt violations.

On The Water

The operator of a 19-foot boat suffered minor burns after the vessel exploded and caught fire around 2:15 p.m. Friday on the Altamaha River between Paradise Park and Williamsburg Landing in Wayne County, the DNR said.

The operator told authorities they had been traveling down river in the boat when they slowed and placed the boat in neutral, the DNR said.

As they were drifting, authorities said the boat burst with no warning. Another boater witnessed the explosion and pulled over to help, authorities said.

All passengers boarded the other boat before flames consumed the first boat, authorities said. The boat burned quickly as it drifted toward the bank before sinking, authorities said.

The operator suffered minor burns, and the other two occupants were uninjured, authorities said.

A Lake Lanier boat explosion happened around 7 p.m. Friday, on Independence Day, near Margaritaville, according to Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

The 23-foot cabin cruiser was being towed in Landshark Cove when it suddenly burst into flames, authorities said.

It is unknown why the 23-foot cabin cruiser exploded, but the seven people injured ranged in age from 5 to 45 and suffered second- and third-degree burns, authorities said.

A second boat exploded Friday afternoon on Lake Nottely in Union County, burning and injuring a seven people, authorities said.

The passengers gassed up at Cozy Cove Marina, and after the boat departed the dock, authorities said the engine shut down while in the No Wake Zone. When the passengers attempted to restart the engine, authorities said the boat exploded.

The group of people suffered burns and were taken to a hospital, authorities said.

The boat was burned to its waterline and ultimately sank at the shoreline, authorities said.

Some of the family members have since been released from the hospital, WAGA reported.

A 15-year-old boy drowned, and his body was recovered after a three-hour search that ended around 8:15 p.m. Saturday at the kayak launch of the the Ocmulgee River in Jasper County, authorities said.
Witnesses helped authorities find the boy's location, the DNR said.

Other boating fatalities and injuries, per the DNR:

• At 11:30 a.m. Monday, game wardens responded to a boating incident at Rattlesnake Creek in McIntosh County. Two boats hit one another after going around a curve near a narrow and shallow creek. The boat operators tried to avoid the crash, but low water and the creek's size did not make that possible. They were able to pull one of the boats to the Bellville Boat Ramp. Both boats sustained damage. No one was injured.
• Around 10 a.m. Friday, a man drowned in a private pond in Wheeler County. Two men were fishing in the pond when one fell over the side and did not resurface. The Wheeler County Sheriff’s Office recovered the man's body and gave it to the Wheeler County coroner.
• A 25-year-old woman received a prop strike to the face Friday evening at West Point Lake in Troup County. The woman was swimming when a red pontoon boat ran over her near Pyne Road Park. After hitting the woman, the pontoon boat left the scene of the accident. She was taken by fellow boaters to the hospital, where she was treated and released.
• Around 10 a.m. Sunday, game wardens responded to a boating incident at Thompson Creek boat ramp on Lake Lanier in Dawson County. Authorities said the driver of a Malibu ski boat was trying to pull his boat up to the courtesy dock when he got stuck on one of the cables that was securing the dock to the shore. He put the boat in reverse to get off the cable, then put the boat into forward gear to slow down the boat. When it was in forward gear, the driver fell and pushed the throttle completely forward. The boat jumped the support cable and landed on the gangway, striking a man and two juveniles. The juveniles and the man suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment.
• Then, around 2:30 p.m. Sunday, game wardens responded to Lake Oconee regarding a swamped vessel in Putnam County. The driver was charged with boating under the influence.
• Around 7 p.m. Saturday, a 62-year-old man who was found unresponsive while water skiing in Wehadkee Creek at West Point Lake later died at Wellstar Hospital in Lagrange.
• No one was injured in a boat fire around 1:15 a.m. Saturday at Lake Hartwell; however, two boats were burnt to their waterlines. Electrical problems caused the fire.
• There were no injuries when a 15-foot Hobie Cat sailboat capsized around 4 p.m. Saturday at the St. Andrews Sound at Little Cumberland Island in Camden County. The boat washed ashore, and two passengers were standing beside it when authorities arrived. The boat was considered a loss.
• A man who fell from an electric hydrofoil surfboard and cut his head around 7 p.m. Saturday while at Lake Oconee in Greene County was taken to Athens Piedmont Regional Hospital for treatment.
• Around 9 p.m. Saturday, a 21-year-old male swimmer drowned near the dock of Horace King Access on West Point Lake in Troup County. His body was located 15 feet underwater and about 10-15 feet from the dock.
• A boat propeller hit a 13-year-old girl, injuring her leg, after she leaped from a tube and swam to the back of a ski boat that was running around 4 p.m. Friday at the Blockhouse Boat Ramp on Allatoona Lake in Cartersville. As she reached for the boat's ladder, her leg hit the propeller. She was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in Cobb County.
• Four people went into the water after a 16-foot Carolina Skiff capsized around 6:30 p.m. Friday near Allatoona Landing. Two people swam to shore, while the remaining duo held onto the boat and their personal floatation devices. They were eventually pulled to shore by other boaters. No one was injured.
• An 18-year-old man had to be taken to a hospital around 4:30 p.m. Friday after lightning hit a personal watercraft at Lake Blue Ridge near the Blue Ridge Marina in Fannin County. He was taken to Blue Ridge Medical Center in stable condition.
• A boat sank 15 feet underwater around 10:15 p.m. Friday in Troup County, taking people overboard. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers rescued the five passengers. No one was injured.
• A man attempting to dock his pontoon boat Friday at Lake Blue Ridge at Blue Ridge Marina was not injured in Fannin County. Wind during a thunderstorm pushed him sideways and caused the front of one of his pontoons to strike the stern of a docked and vacant ski boat. Fiberglass damaged the vessel, and its damaged stern drive caused the boat to take on water.
• Two people fell into the water while turning a vessel around 4:45 p.m. Friday at Lake Sinclair near Optimist Island in Putnam County. A passing boater retrieved the driver who wore a lifejacket. When they tried to throw an unspecified device to the passenger, who was not wearing a lifejacket, the person went underwater. The Baldwin County Dive Team recovered the person around midnight Sunday after a search that began Friday. His status was unknown.
• Around 2:15 p.m. Friday, a 58-year-old man operating a capsized boat was rescued by a passing boater in the Chattahoochee River in southwest Georgia. His boat had hit a large wake, throwing him from the vessel. He was not injured.
• Around 3 p.m. Friday, game wardens responded to a boating incident on Lake Harding. Two juveniles operating personal boats collided and damaged one of them. No one was injured.

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