One man was killed and another was injured about 6 p.m. Friday when the boat in which they were riding flipped end-over-end and sank near Hobie Cove on Folsom Lake, according to authorities.
Witnesses reported seeing the boat speeding in a straight line and then start to wobble before it began to cartwheel, said
El Dorado County
Sheriff's Sgt. Jim Byers. Both men were thrown from the boat, he said.
Authorities identified the driver of the boat, who survived, as 40-year-old Frank Volrath, of
Diamond Springs.
His friend, 42-year-old Anthony Vargas, also of Diamond Springs, was pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel after being pulled from the water.
Keith Wootton, manager of Folsom Lake Marina in Brown's
Ravine, said he helped Volrath out of the water and onto Wootton's boat, before authorities transferred him to shore.
Byers said Volrath was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.
Wootton said a young man ran into his office to inform him of the accident. Wootton immediately took his boat out onto the lake.
"There was debris all around, and (Volrath) was clutching a life jacket," Wootton said, adding later that he saw another life jacket floating among the scattered pieces of the boat.
"He was yelling for help, and to find his friend," Wootton said. "He was just overcome. We wanted him out of the water, but he wasn't thinking about himself. He was only interested in his friend."
Officers in a California Highway Patrol helicopter spotted the sheen of a fuel slick and were able to pinpoint the location of the boat, Byers said.
Divers recovered Vargas' body about 45 minutes after the accident in about 40 feet of water close to the boat, Byers said.
The boat was about a quarter-mile from shore, according to Wootton.
Byers said Vargas suffered severe injuries to his upper body and head. Vargas' body was found without a life jacket, but Byers said that doesn't mean he wasn't wearing one at the time of the accident. It could have been ripped off by the force of the impact, Byers said.
Byers advised that boaters should always wear a life jacket while on the water.
The Folsom Lake Office of the California State Parks Department will be the lead agency in the investigation of the crash, Byers said. He said it was too early to determine a cause.
It could be a number of factors, including presence of debris, a mechanical failure, or driver error, he said. There was just a light breeze and no current in the area, he added.
Byers did say that speed was a contributing factor, but not a violation in that area of the lake.
The boat remains at the bottom of the lake, Byers said, and a dive team will recover it in the morning.
This is the first accident – and the first fatal one – at Folsom Lake this year, Byers said. He said he hopes it will be the last.
Wootton said this is not the first rescue operation he has participated in, but, "I feel bad for the person who lost his friend.
"It's very sad," Wootton said. "They wanted to go out and have fun for a couple of hours, and it just turns into a tragedy."
About the writer:
