On 3/15/11, at approximately 10:00am, a boating accident occurred on lake norman six miles north of the hwy 150 bridge in mooresville.  The vessel was a ranger bass boat with a 115 hp johnson outboard motor.  The boat had a starboard side console and was owned and being operated by the same person.  His son was sitting in the passenger seat on the port side.  The two men had been fishing along the catawba county shoreline near the highway 150 bridge when it started to rain.  They decided to move to a new location and headed northeast towards stumpy creek.  They got on plane and traveled approximately 100 yards towards this destination.  Both men estimated that the boat was traveling at nearly 40 mph.  The vessel suddenly made a hard turn to the port side dumping both men into the water in the main channel.  The current water temperature was 54.5 degrees with an air temperature of 52 degrees.  operator, stated that he did not turn the steering wheel or feel any jerking in the steering column at the time of the accident.  Both men were wearing numerous layers of clothing that quickly became saturated with water.  A type iii pfd was also ejected from the vessel and son was able to retrieve it and get it to his father who was struggling.  Operator was not able to get the pfd on, but used it to keep himself afloat.  The boat continued to travel in a tight circle without an operator.  Witnesses advised it continued to circulate counterclockwise for several hours before running aground on the catawba county shoreline.  According to both men, they tread water for approximately 5 minutes before another boat came their direction.  At this point, hypothermia was starting tyo set in on both victims as they struggled for survival and yelled for help.  The occupants of the approaching bass boat came to the rescue.  They explained that operator had almost drown and was about to disappear under the water's surface.  They threw him a type iv pfd and then a type iii pfd, but both were badly placed throws.  Together they physically pulled him from the water into their boat.  Both men were fighting hypothermia.  However, operator's conditions were diminishing more rapidly.  He had aspirated a large amount of water into his lungs.  Iredell county sheriff's officer responded by water as well as the local fire department and ems.  Both victims were taken to lake norman regional medical center for treatment of hypothermia and water aspiration.  Son was released a few hours later without any physical injuries noted.  Operator remained hospitalized due to a heart condition that was linked to the stressors associated with this accident.  On march 6th, i spoke with son who advised me that his father would be moved to charlotte medical center in mecklenburg county for further heart evaluation and monitoring.  The initial analysis of the boat after the accident revealed a bent section on the propeller.  It appeared as though the prop struck a hard unknown object, bending two of the three blades.  One of the blades was bent forcefully and very distinct, while the other was slightly gnarled.  The steering cables were in tack and the motor turned smoothly with the steering wheel.  Due to the vessel being in the water, i made a second trip to view the hull of the boat while on the trailer after recovery.  The hull had a few scratches from the impact of running aground as well as numerous older scratches.  There did not appear to be any noteable damage to the hull.



MOORESVILLE                   