Boating incidents in six Pennsylvania counties lead to eight deaths in 2023
Eight boaters died across Pennsylvania in 2023 and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission believes having more boaters wear life jackets will save lives in the future.
The agency’s Boating Committee met Wednesday and reviewed the incidents that happened over the past year.
Overall, the agency investigated 48 incidents that involved 41 injuries requiring medical treatment. Seven of the incidents led to the deaths of eight people.
“Falls overboard and capsizing are the two mishaps that happen,” boating and watercraft safety manager Ryan Walt said during.
The new 10-year average is 10.6 fatalities per year which is the lowest on record for the agency. Walt said there is a downward trend of fatalities over the years.
“Clearly during cold water, use of life jackets has made a significant improvement in our fatality data," said William Gibney, the agency’s board president from Wayne County. "We still have an issue with noncompliance from the statistics.”
In most cases, the person who died didn’t have a required life jacket.
“Noncompliance is a huge factor in fatalities," Ward said. "If you wear a life jacket it’s going to greatly reduce your chances of being a victim."
The seven fatal incidents
On March 18, an 18-year-old man died when his rowboat capsized on Lake Henry in Wayne County. Two other people aboard the boat survived. No one was wearing a life jacket. Sudden cold water immersion and alcohol use may have been factors, the agency’s report said.
On April 13, a 65-year-old man died after the 12-foot open motorboat he was operating went over the Dock Street Dam on the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County. He was wearing a life jacket when he entered the water. A passenger, who also had a life jacket, was rescued by another boater. The agency reports sudden cold water immersion may have been a factor in the man’s death.
On May 18, a 65-year-old man died after not returning home from a fishing trip on the Wisecarver Reservoir in Greene County. His 10-foot kayak was found adrift on the lake. The victim was not wearing a life jacket. The agency believes sudden cold water immersion and alcohol use may have been a factor.
On June 28, an 82-year-old man died after capsizing his 12-foot canoe while paddling in high water on the Susquehanna River in Dauphin County. He was not wearing a life jacket.
On Aug. 19, a 26-year-old man died after capsizing an 8-foot kayak on Dresser Lake in Monroe County. He was not wearing a life jacket at the time and the agency reports drugs or alcohol may have been a factor.
On Aug. 19, a 41-year-old man and an 11-year-old boy died after their 6-foot homemade unpowered boat capsized while fishing on a private pond in Clinton County. Two other children were onboard and were able to swim to shore. The deceased were not wearing life jackets.
On Nov. 23, a 31-year-old man died after leaving his kayak to assist another kayaker on Mountain Top Lake in Monroe County. The deceased and two children were onboard a 13-foot kayak. The victim left his kayak to assist a third child whose 8-foot kayak had capsized. After several attempts to right the third child’s kayak, the victim disappeared under water. The three children were all wearing life jackets and made it to shore safely. The victim was not wearing a life jacket and the agency believes sudden cold water immersion may have been a factor.
Gibney said life jacket use will eventually become common, similarly to how people have become accustomed to wearing seatbelts in cars.
“It took some for people to learn that seatbelts save lives,” he said. “It was a gradual education process; it wasn’t a matter of regulation or legislation. I’m hoping we can come up with some strategies to improve the education of wearing life jackets."
John Mahn, chair of the Boating Committee, said, “Most of these things are what I would call human error. It’s not like the kayaks broke in half and sank. These are small crafts, no PFDs (personal floatation Devices), no boating education, training. These are all things we can fix. It’s going to take time and we are going to keep hammering at it every chance we get.”
Mahn said the agency’s efforts regarding life jackets and boating safety is an ongoing effort.
“It’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint,” he said. “This is the most important thing that we do. It’s nice to have lots of fish, but this is literally life and death.”
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Boating deaths in Pennsylvania
