Taylorsville Lake rescue hampered by darkness

Taylorsville, KY (WAVE) - In the fall, water levels on Taylorsville Lake are lower than at other times of the year.

For one boater, that almost spelled disaster. Tuesday night, Taylorsville fire and rescue personnel could barely see where they were going as they tried to locate a reported boating accident.

According to a post on the Taylorsville-Spencer County Fire Protection District Facebook page, 911 callers reported hearing a crash and “someone yelling for help.” Firefighters later learned the boater crashed into a partially submerged tree that “ejected him from the boat...with no life jacket” or engine kill switch to shut off the motor. Response time on water was hampered by darkness.

Chief Nathan Nation worried they would not get to the man in time.

“With the factors of not having a life jacket and a kill switch on the boat, if he hadn’t saved himself we would have been looking at a body recovery unfortunately,” Nation said.

According to the Facebook post, the boater “was able to hang on to a tree sticking up out of the water while his boat continued to circle around him. The boat finally stalled, and he was able to get into the partially sinking boat and get the trolling motor started to get to a nearby shoreline.”

“A nearby neighbor had actually brought him to the Channing Lane boat dock to meet emergency responders and seek medical treatment,” Nation said. “So, when he was able to get himself out of the water, he stated to me he saw one light in the distance. He walked toward that light, it was a residence and fortunately someone was home and was able to help him.”

Nation said the boater sustained minor injuries and was treated by EMTs for hypothermia.

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