RedactedNarrative: On May 5, 2018 at Approximately 14:20, 19 yo operator was involved in a fatal kayaking accident on the Green River in Polk County, NC.  
  
  Operator and a friend, Subject1, were running a stretch of the Green River in Henderson and Polk counties known as the Green River Narrows.  The Narrows area is a stretch of Class V+ waters that draws the most experienced kayakers from all over the world.  Operator had attempted to run one of the biggest rapids on the river known as “Go Left and Die”.   Operator had run the Green River narrows over a thousand times according to his friend Subject1, and was one of the most experienced kayakers that he knew. 
  
  The following was a statement taken from his friend Subject1 who witnessed the accident:
  
   “Operator was running the rapids main flow and pinned in the right side of the rapid with his head out of the water.  The water from the rapid was running up his back and spraying over his head leaving his face exposed.  He pulled his spray skirt, which is used to keep you in your boat and keep water out.  Once he did this, the boat filled with water and shifted down from a vertical pin to a horizontal pin.  Still exposed, he looked to be in a stable position but told us that his leg was stuck in his boat because the force of the water and its power against the rock crushed the boat on top of his legs.  Soon Operators head went under water.”
  
  The force of the water ripped his helmet and PFD off him while he was under water and washed them down stream.  
  
  More kayakers had arrived on scene and some paddled on down the river for the additional 4+miles to the take out to call for help.  After about an hour and a half, the group of kayakers had tied off ropes to the shore line and had managed to pull his body and boat out of the pin in the river rapid.  They performed CPR but Operator had been under water for an hour and a half.  
  
  This is an extremely remote and rugged area located on North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Green River Game Lands and requires a several hours response time for EMS personnel.  The closest access to the river at this location is by repelling down a steep eroded trail and is about two miles from the nearest public road.  The cause of death was determined to be drowning by the coroner on May 6, 2018.
  
  
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