WESTON, W.Va. — State officials say a deadly boating accident in Lewis County over the Fourth of July weekend could’ve been avoided.
“They were out joy-riding, having a good time and sling-shotting the tube around. This was certainly preventable,” said Sgt. Ryan Schafer with the state Division of Natural Resources on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
Sarah Hutchinson, 29, of Indiana died while tubing with her friends on Stonewall Jackson Lake in Weston at around 6:18 p.m. Sunday. The boat driver was pulling her and two other women on a tube that collided with a rock wall and flipped over.
Schafer said emergency crews arrived on scene within minutes.
“The victim that was in the boat, Sarah, was not responding. Our officer jumped into the boat and started chest compression,” he said.
Schefer said the driver of the boat is a 50 year old man from Harrison County. The two other women on the tube were from Colorado and Missouri. They were taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital with serious injuries. They were all 29 years old. Names have not been released.
A witness described to the DNR that she heard a loud sound when the tube hit the rock wall.
“At that point, the tube had been flung into the bank where there were downed trees and some rock wall boulder-type structures that the three females were thrown into,” Schafer explained.
While the boat operator helped the women involved, he could face charges in the accident.
“It’s possible that he just got too close to shore,” Schafer said.
During a virtual briefing Tuesday, Governor Jim Justice urged West Virginians to take boating safety seriously.
“You just got to be really careful. This is a terrible tragedy. You have to remember to wear you life vest and just watch what you’re doing,” Justice said.
The DNR will present the case to the Lewis County District Attorney’s Office.
Hutchinson was a student at Alderson Broaddus University in Barbour County.