(CNN) -- Four men died after horsing around in a boat on a southern Idaho reservoir, authorities said late Monday. The bodies of four men were found Monday evening in the American Falls Reservoir in the same area where the men had fallen into the water a day earlier, said Cpl. Leilani Morgan of the the Power County Sheriff's Department.
The search began Sunday for the four boaters after authorities received a 911 call from a child on their boat, said Power County, Idaho, Sheriff Jim Jeffries. The four men were "horsing around," he said. One man was standing up in the front of the boat and another man pushed him into the water as a joke, not realizing he could not swim, he said.
The report is pretty light, but from the sounds of things they brought their kids with them as well. From the sounds of things, all four adults perished in the water from someone's stupid prank, leaving five kids under the age of 10 alone in a boat in the middle of a lake. Brilliant. More than likely, one or more kids on that boat watched their father(s) die because of that prank.
Stories like these highlight just how dangerous life can be. Those four men didn't get on that boat thinking that they could drown in that lake; they were obviously unprepared for the reality of being on a boat in the water, and had no idea how to safely perform a water rescue. For all three adults to abandon the children in the boat and go in the water without flotation gear is unconscionable; while the drive to save their friend is understandably strong, the extra 20 seconds it would have taken to put on a life vest (why the hell weren't they wearing them anyways) would have spared a lot of people a lot of heartache.
It's all about setting a good example, IMHO. Put on the damn life vest - how the hell can you expect your kid to take safety seriously if you don't? Wear a helmet. Don't smoke. Drink only in moderation. Be a freakin' grown-up, not an oversized teenager. And for the love of all that's good and holy, don't be a friggin' horse's ass while boating, driving, or any other potentially dangerous situation where kids are involved.
Because sometimes, like in this case, stupid kills.
That is all.
11 comments:
Been dealing with some family BS that makes me agree with ya. What is it that can make a couple of 50+ yr old men act like kids on a playground beating the snot out of each other??? Seems Toxic amounts of Testosterone is not limited to boating I fear. . . .
scratching my head.. How did ALL 4 adults end up in the water? One got pushed in then the others just dove in? No-one thought to throw the life preserver?...more to the story... sadly the kids will have to live with this.
I have the same questions that PISSED raises...
I'll be interested to see what else comes to light...
Why would you be on a boat in the first place if you can't swim? How would you save your kid if one of them fell into the water?
Stupidity.
Why would you live with an obvious hole in your skillset like the inability to swim?
I can't swim. I've tried and tried and tried to learn, and just can't. My mother is the same. I don't know why it is. (My husband can't swim either, but he has physical limitations.)
That said, I limit my time on boats, and when I am on one, I wear a frickin' life jacket. All the time. Not confusing.
I also hang around with people who know my limitations and aren't asshole enough that they'd push me into the water thinking it was funny.
In Minnesota I grew up boating. I swim fairly well. Have owned a boat for as long as I can remember.
My boys swim like fish,.
My wife? Like a rock!
We always wear our life jackets when boating with the family!!
Always!
How the hell can you be stupid enough......!!!!!
Nevermind. I work in EMS I know how damn stupid people can be!!
This is so damn sad....
Poor kids..
"Nevermind. I work in EMS I know how damn stupid people can be!!"
No kidding!
And cool! Another EMSer who grew up in Minnesota! Small world!
Sadly, many people just don't carry life vests or other flotation gear in their boats. We never did when I was a kid growing up on a lake in Florida, but back then, you didn't much wear seat belts, either.
I suspect that alcohol may have been involved in this. Very sorry for the kids to have gone through this.
Gotta agree with Robert, had to be some alcohol on board, which only compounded a bunch of stupid.
Full disclosure: I don't wear my life vest *if the boat isn't moving*. Fishing or hanging out on a party boat, I'm taking comfort over safety. As soon as we're moving again, the vest goes back on.
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