The Georgia Department of Natural Resources sent their law enforcement division out to respond to an emergency call. There had been reports of a boat accident on Lake Sinclair. Witnesses to the accident said that a boat came out of one of the coves, sped up and smashed into the victim’s boat.
The victim, George Ralph Harper, called Ralph by his friends and family, had gone out fishing on October 27 to celebrate his 80th birthday. He had his boat parked along the lake. When the person driving the other vessel exited the cove, they sped up and apparently couldn’t see Ralph’s boat.
Harper was a regular on the lake and had been a fisherman his entire life. The lake itself is about 85 miles Southeast of Atlanta, Georgia and is officially located in Baldwin County. This is why the case is being investigated and handled by the Baldwin County Coroner’s office and the Department of Natural Resources.
For now, the law enforcement division of the Department of Natural Resources has taken over. They have arranged for the DNR Law Enforcement Critical Incident Reconstruction Team to investigate the boat accident on Lake Sinclair and see if they can determine exactly what took place.
For now, charges are still pending. Whether or not they are filed will depend on the results of the reconstruction team’s investigation. So far, they have not provided the name of the second driver. What we do know is that Harper was immediately taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, he did not survive the accident and was pronounced dead by the Baldwin County Coroner. The official cause of death is blunt force trauma.
If your loved one is hurt in a boating accident, or any type of accident, make sure to call a Georgia personal injury attorney right away.
Source: https://people.com/human-interest/man-dies-fishing-on-his-80th-birthday-after-boat-crash-georgia-lake/
