ATLANTA - Three deaths and an increase in drunken boating cases marred the Labor Day weekend in Georgia, according to information released late Monday by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
DNR spokesman Rick Lavender said the death of an Atlanta man in Amicalola Creek on Sunday has been classified as a drowning, but the other deaths have been deemed boating-related.
Lavender said the body of Ramiro Ponce-Ruiz, 45, was recovered Monday around 1 p.m. by a diver with the Dawson County dive team. The victim was swimming Sunday afternoon with family and friends at Devil's Elbow on Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area when witnesses said he swam into the pool, dove, came back up and began to struggle.
The other deaths occurred on Lake Allatoona Sunday and on the Savannah River near Augusta on Saturday, according to Lavender.
DNR rangers issued a total of 18 citations for boating under the influence on Georgia waterways. During Labor Day weekend 2012, a total of six BUI citations were distributed.
Lavender said as far as Lake Lanier was concerned, rangers issued six BUI citations to impaired boat operators. In addition, one person was injured when
a PWC hit a metal object in the water in the mouth of Shoal Creek Sunday, puncturing a hole in the hull and throwing the operator into the windshield.
Saturday
October 26th, 2024
12:25AM
