Lake Lanier. FOX 5 Atlanta photo
HALL COUNTY, Ga. - Georgia game wardens have handled a series of boat crashes, severe injuries and fatal water incidents across the state during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Lake Sinclair drowning investigation
What we know:
A 34-year-old man drowned on Lake Sinclair in Baldwin County early Friday, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Witnesses heard a person yelling for help from the water at 3:30 a.m., but the cries stopped after a few minutes.
The Putnam County Sheriff's Office notified Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens about the possible drowning at 5:15 a.m.
Game wardens immediately launched a search using side-scan sonar near the lake's steel bridge area.
They located the victim using the sonar equipment just before 1:00 p.m. The Baldwin County dive team recovered the body in 9 feet of water, state agents said.
Authorities identified the victim as David Hoyt Glass, 34.
Lake Lanier boat accidents
Holiday boat traffic led to dangerous conditions on Lake Lanier on Friday.
In Hall County, a 20-foot center console boat hit a massive wake at Mountain View Park.
The impact caused a female passenger to fall and injure her left leg, requiring emergency transport to Gainesville Medical Center.
Hall County Fire personnel assisted the victim at the scene.
Later that night, around 10:00 p.m., game wardens rushed to a second incident in Dawson County near the Athens Boat Club following a fireworks show.
Officers found a large debris field and immediately rescued two people out of the water in a high-traffic area.
A large wake had crashed over the bow of a pontoon boat, destroying the starboard bow seat compartment and paneling.
Investigators confirmed no injuries occurred and alcohol was not involved.
Statewide water incidents
By the numbers:
The cumulative reporting period spans from 12:01 a.m. on Friday through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, with current statistics capturing initial Friday activities. Law enforcement responded to multiple emergency calls on major holiday waterways:
Two separate incidents occurred on Lake Lanier involving large wakes that damaged a pontoon boat and caused a passenger leg injury.
Two people were hospitalized in Jacksonville with non-life-threatening injuries after a personal watercraft incident on the St. Mary's River.
One man died in Worth County after a tractor flipped into a private pond.
Private pond tractor fatality
Dig deeper:
A separate tragedy occurred in South Georgia at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
Game wardens rushed to a private pond in Worth County after a tractor accident turned fatal.
Investigators learned that 51-year-old Leonard Latresse Polk of Albany was unloading a tractor near the edge of the pond when the machinery flipped off its trailer with him on it.
A nearby witness tried to grab Polk but could not reach him in time.
Game wardens recovered his body from the water a short time later and turned him over to the Worth County Coroner.
What we don't know:
Officials have not released the names of the operator or passenger who were ejected from a personal watercraft on the St. Mary's River in Camden County on Friday. The watercraft hit a wave, causing the two riders to hit their heads together before falling into the river. They were taken to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, but authorities have not provided an update on their current medical conditions.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Wildlife Resources Division.