Palm Beach Gardens Spillway Drownings
Palm Beach Gardens Spillway Drownings
Does it always have to take a tragedy to happen before people can learn a lesson? In some cases, yes, the bad thing has to happen so people can learn, but why do people constantly suffer for things that they already know are dangerous? Seeing is believing, but precautions are taken for reasons! Two recent accidents that were both very preventable happened almost exactly the same way, just three months apart in Palm Beach Gardens.
In June of 2013, Jeff Rossen became a helpless victim in a raging spillway. A spillway is a passageway in which excess water escapes from a reservoir, lake, or the like. Rossen was only thirteen years old. Four young boys that were fishing nearby in the spillway testified as witnesses. The boys told the officials that Rossen was climbing a fence near the gates of the spillway, but that they were not sure what he was trying to do. They said that they thought he must just be playing, but then he lost his grip and went plummeting into the water. The gates of the spillway had been open and the strong falling water and the pulling force was more than enough to keep him struggling under it. The boys rushed to the side of the bank and did the only thing they thought they could at that point. They threw out their fishing lines in hopes that Rossen would grab the lure. The boys say that he got close to the wall and one of them was going to try to grab his hand. However, the current pushed him away before they could reach. What the boys were seeing was Rossen being fumbled around underwater. They told authorities that he got pushed down and brought back up about five times, but after that they didn’t see him again. During all this the boys called 911 and shortly after, the officials arrived on scene.
All four boys agreed that seeing Rossen being pulled out of the water was the worst part of it all. The Palm Beach County Sheriffs office confirmed that the victim did die in the hospital later that night.
Does it always have to take a tragedy to happen before people can learn a lesson? In some cases, yes, the bad thing has to happen so people can learn, but why do people constantly suffer for things that they already know are dangerous? Seeing is believing, but precautions are taken for reasons! Two recent accidents that were both very preventable happened almost exactly the same way, just three months apart in Palm Beach Gardens.
In June of 2013, Jeff Rossen became a helpless victim in a raging spillway. A spillway is a passageway in which excess water escapes from a reservoir, lake, or the like. Rossen was only thirteen years old. Four young boys that were fishing nearby in the spillway testified as witnesses. The boys told the officials that Rossen was climbing a fence near the gates of the spillway, but that they were not sure what he was trying to do. They said that they thought he must just be playing, but then he lost his grip and went plummeting into the water. The gates of the spillway had been open and the strong falling water and the pulling force was more than enough to keep him struggling under it. The boys rushed to the side of the bank and did the only thing they thought they could at that point. They threw out their fishing lines in hopes that Rossen would grab the lure. The boys say that he got close to the wall and one of them was going to try to grab his hand. However, the current pushed him away before they could reach. What the boys were seeing was Rossen being fumbled around underwater. They told authorities that he got pushed down and brought back up about five times, but after that they didn’t see him again. During all this the boys called 911 and shortly after, the officials arrived on scene.
All four boys agreed that seeing Rossen being pulled out of the water was the worst part of it all. The Palm Beach County Sheriffs office confirmed that the victim did die in the hospital later that night.