9-Year-Old Dies When He Falls Out Of Boat

Boy dies while boating on Lake Wylie

By Matt Garfield
mgarfield@heraldonline.com

Posted: Saturday, Jun. 26, 2010

TEGA CAY -- A 9-year-old Charlotte boy was killed Saturday in an apparent boating accident on Lake Wylie, authorities said.

Tanner Blake Goshen was riding in a boat while family members pulled another child in a tube or raft, according to state and York County officials.

A problem occurred with the rope and Tanner fell out, authorities said. The boy came into contact with the rotors as he fell, said Lt. Robert McCullough of the state Department of Natural Resources.

The family rushed to meet paramedics at nearby Windjammer Park in Tega Cay, but Tanner was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 1 p.m., said York County Coroner Sabrina Gast.

The child being pulled by the boat was not injured, officials said.
It was the first S.C. fatality this summer on Lake Wylie, often crowded on weekends with boats, jet skis and swimmers.

However, boating deaths in South Carolina have already surpassed the total in 2009.

As of Saturday, 18 people have died in boating-related accidents on S.C. waters, compared to 11 deaths all of last year, McCullough said.

Last year was unusually low for boat fatalities, McCullough said. This year, warm weather arrived early, causing more people to take to the water early in the season.

On Lake Murray last month, three people died and one was critically injured after a pair of separate nighttime accidents. The accidents occurred 30 minutes apart and less than a mile from each other.

Last week in Georgia, a 15-year-old girl was seriously injured after she was hit by a boat while she was tubing on Lake Lanier.

The girl and a friend fell off the tube just as another boat approached, and the driver swerved to avoid hitting one and ended up hitting the other, according to Georgia authorities.

The girl was recovering at a hospital last week.