Thursday March 28th, 2024 6:34AM

No fatalities, several BUIs on Lake Lanier during holiday

GAINESVILLE - For law enforcement officials, the Independence Day holiday weekend is a time for heavy patrols, watching both land and sea for impaired drivers, as well as working accidents and incidents.
 
The Department of Natural Resources released numbers Monday that show no fatalities on major waterways this year, including on Lake Lanier.
 
"No boating fatalities nor drownings," said McKinnon. "Anytime you can come out of a holiday weekend with no one dying on Lake Lanier, that's certainly a good one in our books."
 
McKinnon said there were five drownings in the state, including a 20-year-old male on the Chattahoochee in Cobb County, and an 8-year-old at Bagby State Park in the southern end of the state. Three others drowned in private bodies of water.
 
Meanwhile, 12 people were arrested on Lake Lanier for Boating Under the Influence, which was the highest number of BUI's in the state.
 
"We would love to see that number turn to zero," McKinnon said. "Our folks are out there enforcing it and when they find somebody who is under the influence, it's got to be done, they've got to be taken off the water."
 
McKinnon said Lanier is one of the busiest lakes in the state, and the sheer volume of people on lake could have contributed to that high number.
 
"We still want those number down. Regardless of how many folks are out there, we'll continue to work to get them down."
 
Though the holiday weekend is over, McKinnon still encourages boaters to designate a sober skipper on the boat, much like a designated driver. He also encouraged the use of life vests.
 
"We recommend everyone wear one, but state law in a boat says under 13, they must wear a life jacket. But we think everybody should wear one," McKinnon said. "It is a rare instance that we pull somebody out of the water who has drowned that was wearing a life jacket."
 
See the tables for a complete list of incidents by lake and region.

 

 
  • Associated Categories: Homepage, Local/State News, Georgia News
  • Associated Tags: lake lanier, Department of Natural Resources, dnr
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