MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A man who went fishing for his 80th birthday was killed in a boat crash on a central Georgia lake, officials said.
George Ralph Harper of Eatonton was knocked unconscious Wednesday afternoon when another boat crashed into his vessel on Lake Sinclair near Milledgeville, The News & Observer reported. He was given CPR but later died from his injuries.
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Another boat was coming out of a cove and the operator didn’t initially see Harper’s stationary boat, according to a news release from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
“Once the operator saw the second vessel, he attempted to steer away, but he struck the fishing boat, rendering a passenger in that boat unconscious and not breathing,” the release said.
Harper died of blunt-force trauma at a hospital, Baldwin County Chief Deputy Coroner Ken Garland told the newspaper.
The person operating the other boat wasn’t named and no charges were listed.
The reservoir about 85 miles southeast of Atlanta is used for water activities including boating and fishing, according to the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The lake has seen several deaths in recent years.
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Earlier this year, a 12-year-old boy drowned in Lake Sinclair while trying to help a child struggling in the water. The victim, identified as Traetorin Mitchell, was with his family when he spotted a younger child struggling in the water. Mitchell died helping save the child.
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In 2018, a 23-year-old drowned in the lake during a contest to see who could stay underwater the longest at a bachelor party. The victim, 23-year-old Robert Zachary “Zach” Bunsa, was visiting from New Jersey.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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