Drowning Victims Remembered; Safety Urged
By Scott Richardson, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
May 1–HUDSON — Evergreen Lake operations supervisor Mike Steffa well remembers Richard Hunter; his son, Jason; and his grandson, Kalin, of Normal from the few minutes he spent with them the day before they died in a drowning accident at Clinton Lake on March 14.
Steffa said the elder Hunter, an avid fisherman, brought the used 1995, 17-foot Alumacraft boat he’d purchased a few months earlier to Evergreen Lake for a test run.
During their visit, Steffa chatted with Jason Hunter, who was home from was on leave from the U.S. Navy. He was stationed in Charleston, S.C., a city with a college that is recruiting Steffa’s daughter, a star volleyball player.
When the elder Hunter discovered he’d forgotten his life jackets, Steffa offered to let him use life vests from the park’s concession stand. When Richard Hunter discovered he’d also forgotten the keys to start the boat motor, he instead practiced backing the boat trailer down the boat ramp to the water a few times before leaving, Steffa said.
About a day later, Steffa saw the television broadcasts and read the news in the Pantagraph and knew immediately the people he’d met were the victims of a triple tragedy when their boat went over the dam at Clinton Lake. Authorities said they’d received a 911 call saying the boat had run out of gasoline.
“I felt horrible,” Steffa said.
The men’s bodies were soon found, but divers took several days to recover the boy’s body due to high water and debris in the spillway.
Duane Pitchford, acting captain of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources conservation police based at Clinton Lake, said the Evergreen visit was just one of several bits of evidence officers are using to piece together events leading up to the accident. Another glimpse came when Pitchford saw a folder of information the elder Hunter had collected over the winter on boating and boat safety.
“He was trying to sincerely learn as much as he could,” Pitchford said.
Pitchford said conservation police are finishing their reports this week. Also this week, the DeWitt County coroner’s office expects to receive results of toxicology tests from the Illinois state police lab, Pitchford said. An inquest will be scheduled once all of the information is in hand.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, DNR issued a reminder to Clinton Lake visitors of safety rules, both old and new, in effect there:
– The alcohol ban formerly in effect at Mascoutin Campground’s loops H and I is being expanded to include loops J and K;
– The no-wake after-dark speed limit put into effect after a fatal nighttime-collision between two boats remains in effect;
– Conservation police will ticket or tow vehicles not parked in designated spaces. The goal is to ease over-crowding;
– In addition, mushroom hunting is not allowed until after 1 p.m. through May 17 to avoid conflicts with turkey hunters.
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Copyright (c) 2007, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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