BASED ON INFORMATION TO DATE:  On 10/4/2009 at approximately 10:50 am, P1 was operating vessel one on Cherokee lake near the Hwy 25E Bridge.  He was traveling upstream toward point 20.  Witnesses at Linda’s Lakeside Marina and Boat Dealership (P2) saw the vessel traveling past their business with the bow of the vessel pointing high in the air, thought the vessel’s plug may have not been installed, and then lost sight of the vessel as it continued up the lake. After leaving the sight of the dealership, the vessel capsized and the operator/victim entered the water.  A witness on a nearby personal dock (P3) stated he saw the vessel overturned with the “bottom showing” and saw a man in the water yelling for help.  P3 ran for help but during the elapsed time, the victim had drowned.  P4 and P5 from Linda’s Marina found the victim face down in the water and held him on the surface until rescue squad personnel could remove him.  The victim was transported to Lakeway Hospital where Grainger County Coroner pronounced death and routine blood draws were performed.  Later that afternoon, TWRA officers scanned the bottom of the lake with a side scan sonar unit and located the vessel located in approximately 50-60 feet of water approximately 190 feet inside the Grainger County line as based upon the river channel.  The vessel was removed from the lake bottom on the evening of 11/06/2009 and was examined for investigative purposes.  Blood results were obtained from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab and all toxicology was found to be negative for drugs and alcohol.  An additional witness, P6, was contacted and advised he had spoke with the victim a bit before the accident while both were boating.  P6 stated he had encountered the victim and saw that P1's vessel was traveling with the bow high in the air and the stern just above the waterline.  Based on the investigation, it is believed the vessel was improperly loaded with no weight in the front of the vessel and the rear just above the waterline.  The vessel's plug was found installed when it was recovered from the lake.  It is believed that water spilled over the rear of the vessel while it was being operated, and the vessel quickly filled with water.  The vessel (being manufactured before flotation requirements) sunk rapidly with no internal flotation to keep it above water.  Testing was performed on the vessel and it was found to be loaded below total capacity, but the weight the vessel was carrying was at the rear of the vessel and not evenly distributed throughout the boat.
BEAN STATION                  