The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) reports that a 24-year old Chattanooga man was a drowning victim over the July Fourth holiday weekend. The accident occurred on Sunday, July 4 on Chickamauga Lake near the Paradise Cove section.
A total of 17 accidents were reported across the state, resulting in 16 injuries for the July Fourth holiday period which ran from 6 p.m., July 2 through midnight, July 5.
Chickamauga, Dale Hollow Lake, and the Ocoee River had three accidents each.
TWRA boating officers made 28 boating under the influence arrests during the period with almost one third (nine) coming from Old Hickory Lake. Kentucky Lake was a distant second with three arrests, with Watts Bar, Boone, Ft. Loudoun, and Watauga lakes all having two arrests each.
In 2009, over the July Fourth holiday, there were 17 BUI arrests, one fatality, and 15 total accidents.