A third Boy Scout died Monday after a sailboat carrying a group of Scouts struck an overhead power line on a lake east of Dallas.
- Thomas Larry, 11, was the third Boy Scout to die after an incident on Saturday
- Larry, Heath Faucheux, 16, and Will Brannon, 17, sailed into a power line
- Their boat struck an overhanging power line at Lake O'The Pines in Texas
- Faucheux and Brannon died at the scene, believed to been fatally electrocuted
- Larry was taken to the hospital in critical condition but he died on Monday
- A vigil was held for the boys, part of Troop 620 in Hallsville, Texas, on Sunday
Two Boy Scouts, ages 16 and 18, died on Saturday at the scene. The 18-year-old was found dead onboard while the 16-year-old died in the water, according to a news release by the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). Officials did not immediately release the Scouts' names.
East Texas Area Council Chief Executive Dewayne Stephens said after that accident that it was an “extremely difficult time” for the Scouting family.
“This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family. We are very sad to confirm the deaths of two youth participants following a boating incident,” Stephens added. “A third youth has been airlifted to an area hospital after sustaining injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families. We will support them in any way that we can.”
Preliminary investigations found that the sailboat collided with the transmission powerline and that those who died may have been electrocuted.
The three Scouts were members of Boy Scout Troop 620 from Hallsville, Texas. TPWD said they were all wearing personal flotation devices when the accident occurred.
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The tragic news of three Boy Scouts electrocuted on an East Texas lake is hitting home for a North Texas man.
Not only did his own brother die on the same lake more than 30 years ago, he too was electrocuted when his boat’s mast came into contact with a live wire.
For Tom Irwin, time has done little to heal his broken heart.
“Twins they say is half a person,” he said tearing up. “So, he was the other half.”
Losing his twin brother was made all the more difficult because of how it happened.
The then 35-year-old attorney was on a sailboat in Lake O’ The Pines near Avinger, Texas.
“He was motoring into the cove,” said Irwin. “When you hit bottom you put your motor in reverse and that’s what he did and was electrocuted 26 times.”
Irwin’s boat mast had come into contact with a power line.
Memories of that horrific day came flooding back last weekend.
“Last Saturday I got a call from my sister-in-law, Jerry’s wife, saying it happened again,” he said.
A sailboat with Boy Scouts was in the lake less than a mile from where Irwin’s brother was killed.
A preliminary investigation found their boat hit an overhead transmission line, electrocuting them.
“Now you’re talking about teenagers, Boy Scouts, innocent kids,” said Irwin.
He now questions Upshur Rural Electric Cooperation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns and monitors the lake.
“How can you let this happen again,” he said.
Irwin says the wires were raised in the area where his brother was killed.
“Why they did not extend the height across the waterway all the way around I don’t know,” he added.
“Nobody should be at risk to get in a boat and get on the waterways and have to worry about whether someone’s done their homework,” said Irwin.
Texas Parks and Wildlife is leading the investigation into the death of the Boy Scouts.
However, spokesperson for the department told NBC 5 “we do not have the specifics of the wire height.”
The department referred NBC 5 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for information about utilities on their property.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Fort Worth released a statement to NBC 5:
"First and foremost, regarding the tragic loss of three lives this past weekend, we want the families of these young men to know our thoughts, prayers and condolences are with them.
We consider any loss of life one too many and continue to place public safety above all else as priority one.
Reference the proper minimum required height for the power line over the lake, the required heights and other related specifics are a part of the ongoing investigation.
After the 1982 incident the Army Corps went through a stringent process to evaluate the appropriate height of the power line. These two incidents were not identical and occurred at different locations on the lake."
Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative did not return calls for information or a statement about the height of power lines at the lake.
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Texas Boy Scouts Electrocuted in Deadly Boating Accident
by Kalhan Rosenblatt
Two Boy Scouts died and another was hospitalized after their sailboat hit a power line on Saturday, according to officials.
The three boys — ages 11, 16, and 18 — are members of a Boy Scout troop from Hallsville, Texas, officials said. Authorities did not release the names of the victims.
It is believed the vessel, a Hobiecat Catamaran sailboat, collided with an overhead transmission power line and those aboard the boat were likely electrocuted, according to a Texas Parks & Wildlife Department press release.
The 16-year-old and 18-year-old were found in the water, dead, near the Catamaran, TPWD said.
Bystanders were able to bring the 11-year-old, who was unresponsive, onto a nearby boat and began performing CPR until authorities arrived.
When game wardens arrived on scene the Catamaran was on fire with the sails up about 300 yards north of the power lines, according to the TPWD.
“This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family. We are very sad to confirm the deaths of two youth participants following a boating incident. A third youth has been airlifted to an area hospital after sustaining injuries," the Boy Scouts of America's East Texas Area Council CEO Dewayne Stephens wrote in a statement.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families. We will support them in any way that we can."
Staff at LSU Medical Center-Shreveport, where the surviving scout was reportedly airlifted, was unable to confirm the patient was in their care or what his status was, but said because he is a minor, his parents might have requested his information be kept private.
The incident happened at Alley Creek, located on Lake O’ The Pines Marina near Avinger, Texas, just before 2 p.m. on Saturday, according to the press release.
“I would like to thank the emergency teams who responded and assisted our Scouts and volunteers throughout this incident,” Stephens said in his statement.
The accident is being investigated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s statewide boating accident reconstruction and mapping team, according to the release
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Enough.
Frankly, it was enough 35 years ago, when a respected Longview lawyer was killed as the mast of his sailboat came into contact with a power line overhanging Lake O' the Pines.
And it certainly is enough now that three promising young men have been killed in a sickeningly similar incident last weekend at the reservoir north of Longview.
The East Texas community — indeed the nation — has been horrified by the accident that took the lives of three Boy Scouts participating in an organized campout at the reservoir, just as members of Hallsville's Troop 620 have done every summer for years.
This time, though, the mast of the catamaran manned by two Eagle Scouts who were teaching a younger troop member to sail made contact with a power line strung across Alley Creek on the reservoir's north shore, electrocuting the boys.
One of the older Scouts was found dead on the boat, another was found in the water nearby. Both were killed instantly. The younger Scout apparently was thrown from the craft by the force of the electrical shock. He was quickly rescued but died later at a Shreveport medical center.
What a needless tragedy. And what a shame the same condition that took the life in 1982 of lawyer G. Brockett Irwin has been allowed to remain all these years later to take three more innocent lives. Lost were Scouts Will Brannon, 17; Heath Faucheaux, 16; and Thomas Larry, 11.
Enough.
It is past time for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built and operates the reservoir, to do what should have been done many years ago: Require all power lines over navigable water to be raised to a safe height or removed.
Under a 1997 regulation, electric power transmission lines and communication lines over reservoirs must have a minimum vertical clearance of 52 feet where sailboats are commonly operated. But that requirement only goes into effect if existing lines are being replaced or new ones built. That exemption must be removed.
According to officials, the catamaran the Scouts were sailing has a mast that stands about 26.5 feet tall. That means the power line over the area could have been about half the required distance above the water.
We understand the Upshur County Rural Electric Cooperative line the Scouts' mast contacted could have been exempted under the 1997 regulations but still, we say, enough. The co-op and all others that operate lines over the reservoir must now either raise them or remove them.
The corps says there are numerous locations where power lines cross Lake O' the Pines and members of the Longview Yacht Club are regularly warned of at least three to avoid. But pity the sailor who, without benefit of such warnings, ventures into one of those areas, never to return. Pity, too, the captain whose well-known route is made deadly in a rainy season by high water levels that push his mast into a power line it otherwise would have cleared.
Enough.
The corps and utilities must finally do the right thing and either see that all transmission lines are raised to a sufficiently safe height — or relocated from above navigable waters.
We must not allow another tragedy to occur because of low power lines at Lake O' the Pines. We have seen enough.
https://www.news-journal.com/news/2017/aug/09/editorial-all-power-lines-at-lake-o-the-pines-must/
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Pictured: Three Boy Scouts aged 11 to 17 who died after sailing into an overhanging power line on Texas lake
- Thomas Larry, 11, was the third Boy Scout to die after an incident on Saturday
- Larry, Heath Faucheux, 16, and Will Brannon, 17, sailed into a power line
- Their boat struck an overhanging power line at Lake O'The Pines in Texas
- Faucheux and Brannon died at the scene, believed to been fatally electrocuted
- Larry was taken to the hospital in critical condition but he died on Monday
- A vigil was held for the boys, part of Troop 620 in Hallsville, Texas, on Sunday
By Cheyenne Roundtree and Regina F. Graham For Dailymail.com
Published: 18:36 EDT, 7 August 2017 | Updated: 18:42 EDT, 7 August 2017
Three Boy Scouts have died after a boat they were sailing in struck an overhanging power line while they were on a troop trip to a Texas lake.
Heath Faucheux, 16, and Will Brannon, 17, are believed to have been fatally electrocuted when their catamaran hit a power line at Lake O'The Pines, Texas, on Saturday.
Faucheux and Brannon were found dead at the scene and the voltage critically injured 11-year-old Thomas Larry, who was the third Boy Scout on the boat.
The young boy was rescued from the burning watercraft and rushed to Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport in critical condition.
Larry, whose brother was also on the trip and witnessed the horror unfold, died of his severe injuries on Monday.
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Thomas Larry, 11, was the third Boy Scout to die after an incident at Lake O'The Pines, Texas, on Saturday. The young boy died of his injures on Monday after his boat struck an overhanging power line. Pictured: Larry (left) with his brother who witnessed the tragedy unfold from afar
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Will Brannon, 17, (left) and Heath Faucheux, 16, (right) are believed to have been fatally electrocuted when their catamaran hit the line on Saturday. They both were found dead at the scene, with Faucheux found floating in the water
Larry was unable to breathe on his own, had a blood transfusion, tested negative for brain function and was on life support before he died, according to his GoFundMe page and WKRG.com.
The boy's father Kedrick Larry released a statement that said: 'Sadly I have to report that Thomas lost his battle earlier today.
'First, I want to say how grateful we are for all the love and support we have received since this happened to Thomas. The response has been overwhelming.
'Everything that could have been done was, but it was God's will to call him home.'
A vigil was held in honor of Faucheux, Brannon and Larry, who at the time was still fighting for his life, in Hallsville, Texas, on Sunday night.
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A vigil was held in honor of Faucheux, Brannon and Larry, who at the time was still fighting for his life, in Hallsville, Texas, on Sunday night
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The boys were part of Boy Scout Troop 620 in Hallsville, Texas. Hundreds gathered for the somber candlelight vigil (pictured)
Brannon's mother shared the news of her son's death in a Facebook post.
She wrote: 'How do you even begin to write this… Our beloved son Will Brannon was involved in a boating accident on Saturday afternoon and has passed away.
'We are devastated by his loss. So many friends and family have surrounded us and the other families involved with their love, prayers and support. We truly appreciate this.'
Texas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted: 'A terrible tragedy. Our thoughts & prayers go out to the Boy Scouts & their families.'
Dewayne Stephens, the Scout Executive for the East Texas Area Council, issued a statement thanking emergency teams for their response.
It read: 'This is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims’ families. We will support them in any way that we can.'
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The boys were sailing in a catamaran when it struck the power line, setting the boat ablaze. Pictured: Larry (left) and Brannon (right)
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It wasn't clear Monday why the power line was overhanging the water, in proximity to boats
The boys, members of Troop 620 in Hallsville, were sailing in a catamaran when it struck the power line at Lake O'The Pines near Avinger, 150 miles from Dallas.
All three were wearing flotation devices.
Daniel Anderson, Assistant Scout Executive for the East Texas Area Council, said a Scout leader reached the boat within minutes but the two older boys were already dead.
Anderson said the trio was just off shore when the catamaran struck the line operated by Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative.
Larry was found unresponsive 'in a boat nearby' and was given CPR by 'good Samaritans,' a statement from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reads.
Anderson said other Scouts were at a camp site on private land and it immediately became apparent to them that the three were in distress.
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The tragic incident happened at Lake O'The Pines in Texas, around 150 miles east outside of Dallas (file above)
Another boat nearby gathered the 11-year-old and took him to shore to an awaiting ambulance.
'There's literally hundreds of campouts like this every year in East Texas and nothing like this ever happens,' Anderson said.
It wasn't clear Monday why the power line was overhanging the water, in proximity to watercraft.
Texas Parks & Wildlife spokesman Steve Lightfoot said no other details of the accident would be released Monday while a reconstruction of the events is conducted by investigators.
Rob Walker, general manager of Upshur Rural Electric Cooperative, said in a statement that the company is working to determine what happened.
'We are cooperating in the investigation and will assist in the process as it goes forward,' he said.