On january 15, 2010 at around 4pm, two subjects were fishing just west of the i 95 bridge on the roanoke river near gaston. They decided to check another fishing hole, in doing so they had to travel through some stronger current and more hazardous waters.  When traveling through these waters, the operator was watching for rocks to the right of him and was unaware of a large tree in the water in front of them.  Once he saw the tree, he attempted to avoid the collision by putting the motor in reverse.  The current was too strong at that point and the vessel collided with the tree.  He vessel became pinned up against the tree and very quickly began taking on water from the starboard side.  The vessel filled with water and flipped.  Both men fell out of the vessel and climbed back on top of the vessel.  The vessel floated downstream toward weldon.  The men floated on the vessel for about an hour before they were rescued by another subject who was also on the river that day.  Both men were suffering from severe hypothermia and were treated at halifax regional medical center.  It was determined at the hospital that occupant suffered a heart attack during the accident, and he was later transfered to wake medical hospital.
GASTON                        