Kayaker Run Down, Killed By Speeding Powerboat

(4/29/23 – Nashville, TN) One of our greatest boating safety concerns is for the kayakers, one or two of whom die each week. Most because they capsize and drown with no PFD. But, they are run-down as well.

Search and rescue crews recovered a woman’s body after reports that a boat hit a kayaker near Hamilton Creek on Percy Priest Lake. Crews were called to 2901 Bell Road at around 9:45 a.m. on Saturday, according to the Nashville Fire Department. Officials with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA), Nashville Office of Emergency Management (OEM), and Nashville Fire responded to the incident.

Officials said a kayaker didn’t resurface after getting hit by a boat carrying three people. Through interviews with witnesses and the cooperation of the driver of the boat, officers were able to identify an area of water where the missing kayaker may have been.

Officials used a remote-operated vehicle (ROV) in the area and found the body of a female kayaker in 54 feet of water. Divers with Nashville OEM recovered the kayaker shortly after 3 p.m. The kayaker is being identified only as a Middle Tennessee resident. The case remains under investigation, officials said.