KCCI Investigates: Recent drownings reveal risks of swimming in open water

Published: Aug 30, 2024 Duration: 00:04:16 Category: News & Politics

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LEADER, KCCI EIGHT NEWS AT FIVE. RECENT DROWNINGS THIS SUMMER ARE RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT RECREATIONAL SAFETY IN IOWA'S LAKES, RIVERS AND PONDS. KCCI JODI LONG FINDS WHO IS MOST AT RISK AND WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT TO THE WATER. THE WATER CAN BE HARD TO RESIST ON A WARM SUMMER'S DAY, WHICH IS WHY IT CAN BE HARD TO PROCESS WHEN THINGS GO TERRIBLY WRONG. HE WAS JUST TRYING TO HELP THOSE TWO LITTLE BOYS. EARLIER THIS MONTH, KEITH BACZYNSKI DROWNED AT THIS POND IN WAUKEE WHILE TRYING TO HELP RETRIEVE A FISHING POLE FOR TWO YOUNG KIDS. AN OSKALOOSA MIDDLE SCHOOL PRINCIPAL WAS SEEN STRUGGLING IN LAKE MICHIGAN WHILE ON A FAMILY VACATION AND NEVER RESURFACED. THEN THERE WAS AIDEN BEASON. HE WASN'T GOING TO ASK HIS TEAMMATES TO DO ANYTHING THAT HE WASN'T WILLING TO DO HIMSELF. THE 17 YEAR OLD CENTERVILLE PROM KING WHO DROWNED WHILE AT RATHBUN LAKE IN JUNE, SWIMMING WITH FRIENDS. THREE MEN WITH SOMETHING IN COMMON, NONE OF THEM WEARING LIFE JACKETS. LIFE JACKETS ARE NOT REQUIRED BY IOWA LAW FOR TEENAGERS AND ADULTS. I'D MAKE IT MANDATORY BECAUSE IT'S IT'S IT'S REALLY IT'S REALLY A DANGEROUS THING TO BE WITHOUT THAT LIFE JACKET. AND WE'VE SEEN TOO MANY DROWNINGS WITH PEOPLE NOT WEARING THEIR LIFE JACKET. TODD ROBERTSON SPENDS HIS TIME ON IOWA LAKES AND RIVERS EDUCATING PEOPLE ABOUT OPEN WATER SAFETY WITH THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES. IF YOU USE COMMON SENSE AND YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE DANGEROUS. ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL DROWNING PREVENTION ALLIANCE, TEENAGE AND ADULT MALES ARE OVERWHELMINGLY MORE LIKELY TO DROWN IN NATURAL AND OPEN WATERS LIKE LAKES, RIVERS AND PONDS. A WATER SAFETY STUDY SUGGESTS THAT'S BECAUSE OF INCREASED RISK TAKING, LOWER LEVELS OF SUPERVISION AND ALCOHOL USE. IN A 2020 REPORT FROM THE ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS, IT INDICATES THE MAJORITY OF ADULTS WHO DROWN IN OPEN WATER KNEW HOW TO SWIM, BUT OVERESTIMATED THEIR SWIMMING ABILITIES. FOR EVERY DROWNING, THERE ARE COUNTLESS OTHER CLOSE CALLS. I GOT A GUY SWIMMING TOWARDS MY ROPE NOW. DES MOINES POLICE BODY CAMERA CAPTURING THIS NERVE WRACKING MOMENT ON THE DES MOINES RIVER. THIS SUMMER. WE'VE GOT FIVE SAFE ON THE FLOOR RIGHT NOW. SEVEN PEOPLE WERE RESCUED AFTER THEIR BOAT CAPSIZED CLOSE TO THE RIVER'S DANGEROUS LOW HEAD DAM. ALL OF THEM SURVIVED, BUT POLICE SAY NONE OF THEM WERE WEARING LIFE JACKETS. THE IOWA DNR SAYS OPEN BODIES OF WATER CAN BE DANGEROUS FOR DIFFERENT REASONS, LIKE VISIBILITY, CURRENT DEBRIS AND DROP OFFS, ESPECIALLY AFTER HIGHER THAN NORMAL WATER LEVELS THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER. SO A STREAM BED IS NOT A FLAT, JUST PERFECT LIKE ROAD. IT'S LIKE A LOT OF OUR ROADS, RIGHT? WE'VE GOT POTHOLES HERE AND HERE. HOLES HAVE BEEN SCOURED OUT BY THE FORCE OF WATER. SO YOU COULD BE WALKING ALONG IN ANKLE DEEP WATER, ONE SPOT AND THE NEXT STEP YOU TAKE, YOU MAY BE UNDERWATER. DROWNING CAN HAPPEN IN A MATTER OF SECONDS, EVEN TO THE STRONGEST OF SWIMMERS. THE STATE DOES NOT TRACK DROWNINGS BY WHERE THEY HAPPEN. REGARDLESS, HEALTH EXPERTS SAY DROWNING IS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN. STATE MEDICAL DIRECTOR DOCTOR ROBERT CRUZ. I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THOSE ARE COMPLETELY PREVENTABLE. DOCTOR CRUZ SAYS RECOGNIZING TROUBLING TRENDS FORCES HIS DEPARTMENT TO FIGURE OUT BETTER WAYS TO EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ABOUT WATER SAFETY. HE SAYS SWIM LESSONS ARE A START. CERTAINLY MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE ACCESS AS PART OF AN EQUITY PIECE IS IMPORTANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO THOSE TYPES OF FORMAL SWIMMING LESSONS. LAST YEAR, THE STATE REPORTED AT LEAST 33 IOWANS UNINTENTIONALLY DROWNED, ACCORDING TO THE CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL, AN ALARMING HALF OF ADULTS HAVE NEVER HAD A FORMAL SWIMMING LESSON. ONCE WE HIT THAT WATER, IF WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, THAT'S WHEN WE'RE GOING TO BE IN TROUBLE. THE IOWA DNR SAYS SWIMMING LESSONS ARE NOT ENOUGH WHEN OUT ON OPEN WATER. THAT'S ONE OF OUR FAVORITE SAYINGS, IS KNOW BEFORE YOU GO. KNOW THE RIVER LEVELS. KNOW THE WEATHER, KNOW YOUR SKILL LEVEL. THERE'S JUST A LOT OF THINGS. EXPERTS RECOMMEND WEARING A U.S. COAST GUARD APPROVED LIFE JACKET. HAVING AN EMERGENCY PLAN. AND THEY ALSO SAY TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS BY KNOWING WHEN TO GET OUT OF THE WATER. WHEN SOMETHING DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT. ALL REMINDERS THAT COULD BE LIFE SAVING.

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