Drowning at Windy Point 10-13-2007

[Jay_SMART_Diver]

Heard there was an OW student that drowned today at Windy Point. Missing for some time, found at 75' unconscious with 500 psi, brought to surface and transported by EMS but did not survive. anyone else hear any other details? Condolences to friends and family.

KXAN Story
The drowning happened at Bob Wentz Park around 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

Investigators say the emergency call came as a diver in distress. Once crews arrived on the scene they searched the water for the man. He was found about an hour later.

The victim had been scuba diving 86 feet with a dive master and two others when he was reported missing.

"Lake Travis is not a clear lake. It is somewhat murky and visibility is limited. But if you stay together as a team, there is some level of safety," said Travis County spokesperson Roger Wade.

EMS crews tried to revive the man, but he was later pronounced dead at Brackenridge Hospital.

 

[Hemlon]

I was at WP when the incident happened although he had already been transported by the time I surfaced.

Lots of people were talking at the surface about possible things that went wrong.

 

[Texas_Aggie06]

very sad

 

[ianr33]

I was out there this afternoon. My understanding is that he was doing an AOW course and that his tank had 1000 p.s.i.

Kind of strange being unconscious on the bottom for that long (~hour) but still having air in his tank.

 

[PvilleStang]

I was gonna say, OW student at 86 feet... My condolences to his family. What group was he with, anyone know?

 

[Hemlon]

Kind of strange being unconscious on the bottom for that long (~hour) but still having air in his tank.

Not really. If he wasn't inhaling from it, the air would remain in the tank. Right?

 

[ianr33]

I was gonna say, OW student at 86 feet... My condolences to his family. What group was he with, anyone know?

He was from the Houston area,dont know which shop.

Not really. If he wasn't inhaling from it, the air would remain in the tank. Right?

Yes,but why was he not breathing from it? Two possibilities I guess. Either lost his reg,panicked and drowned or had a medical issue and stopped breathing.

Either way,not a good day.

 

[texdiveguy]

Or maybe the poor sole simply died of other than dive related causes..... RIP fellow.

 

[parrotheaddiver]

The local news reported that he was in his mid 50's and could possibly had a heart attack...but this is all speculation on the news report....sorry for his familys loss

 

[dixintex]

I was with him diving at the park. We went over and over again what went wrong and it was concluded that we all followed the rules precisely and that an autopsy (due Tuesday) will be the only way to find out what happened. He had fully functioning gear, 1000 psi. He was still grasping his light and he still had his mask and fins on which means whatever happened to him happened quick...no signs of panic or struggle. My personal OPINION is that he succombed to a heart attack or stroke. What really impressed me was the way the divers on the shore quickly and efficiently took charge of the situation IMMEDIATELY. There were probably over 200 divers there that weekend, including a HUGE class of rescue divers and also a group of firefighters. My personal thanks to all of them. They all got together and performed AED, CPR, Resuscitation in an almost machine like way.