{"id":39381,"date":"2017-08-08T05:22:31","date_gmt":"2017-08-08T05:22:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=39381"},"modified":"2017-08-08T05:22:31","modified_gmt":"2017-08-08T05:22:31","slug":"third-boy-scout-dies-electric-shock-sailing-accident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/third-boy-scout-dies-electric-shock-sailing-accident.html","title":{"rendered":"Third Boy Scout dies after electric shock in sailing accident"},"content":{"rendered":"

Third Boy Scout dies after electric shock in sailing accident<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

An 11-year-old Boy Scout died Monday from injuries he suffered in a Saturday boating accident, two days after two fellow Scouts died of electrocution at the scene, a state official said Monday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas Larry was found unresponsive after a boat carrying the three Scouts reportedly collided with a power line on Lake O\u2019 the Pines in East Texas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayer are with the families,\u201d Steve Lightfoot, a spokesman for Texas Parks and Wildlife, told The Washington Post.<\/span><\/p>\n

The agency is the lead investigator of the accident reconstruction to determine how the catamaran struck a transmission power line. It was too early to determine whether there were any boating violations that occurred, Lightfoot said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The two other boys, who were Eagle Scouts, were 18 and 16, according to the parks agency. Their names have not been released.<\/span><\/p>\n

Boy Scout officials are asking Scouts to show support during Thomas\u2019s organ donation procedure Tuesday at Louisiana State University\u2019s Shreveport medical center, where he was taken for care and later died. A flag will be raised, flown and then lowered and given to his family as fellow Scouts attend in uniform, Dewayne Stephens, the scout executive for Boy Scouts of America\u2019s East Texas Area Council, said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Saturday, adventure-thirsty Boy Scouts had been mastering the outdoors across Lake O\u2019 the Pines.<\/span><\/p>\n

The more senior members of Troop 620, based in the small East Texas town of Hallsville, worked at one end of the public lake toward a merit badge involving motor boats. On shore, the troop\u2019s youngest Scouts tended to their campsite. And aboard a catamaran in an alcove called Alley Creek, two teens with Eagle Scout distinction were mentoring an 11-year-old troop member as he learned to sail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then suddenly the catamaran caught fire, and the Scouts onshore were shouting for help.<\/span><\/p>\n

Within minutes, a troop leader had hopped into a kayak and paddled upon the gruesome scene: two Scouts in the water and one on the catamaran. All were apparently shocked by a live power line strung just low enough to catch their 30-foot mast as they glided beneath it, according to state wildlife officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

Some good Samaritans helped pull Thomas into their boat while the Scout leader performed CPR, said Daniel Anderson, chief operating officer for the East Texas Area Council, which includes Troop 620. They drove Thomas to the marina, where he was airlifted in critical condition to the Shreveport hospital, just across the state line.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with The Post, Anderson said their Boy Scout community and the young men of Troop 620 who witnessed the boating accident are traumatized.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to come together as a Scout family and make sure we are supporting those who are carrying quite a weight right now,\u201d Anderson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

More than 300 people gathered at a park in Hallsville on Sunday night for a vigil honoring Thomas and the Eagle Scouts. It was mostly a collection of other area troops, Anderson said.<\/span><\/p>\n

All three of the young men involved in Saturday\u2019s accident were members of the local Hallsville band, the Longview News-Journal reported. The newspaper named the two teens who were killed, but authorities had yet to release their identities. One was the son of the troop\u2019s scoutmaster, the other the son of the troop\u2019s assistant scoutmaster, according to the News-Journal.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re talking about great young men, men of integrity,\u201d Sherri Morgan, Hallsville band director, said at the vigil, according to the News-Journal. \u201cWe\u2019re heartbroken. We\u2019re devastated.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll is not lost. They leave a legacy,\u201d she added. \u201cSo they are going to live on forever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The East Texas Area Council confirmed the boys\u2019 deaths and Thomas\u2019s injuries in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extremely difficult time for our Scouting family,\u201d the statement said. \u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with the victims\u2019 families. We will support them in any way that we can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) called the boating accident a \u201cterrible tragedy\u201d in a statement and said his \u201cthoughts and prayers go out to the Boy Scouts and their families.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Kelly Weatherford, a longtime and close family friend of Thomas Larry\u2019s parents, told The Post she spent Saturday night and Sunday morning in the hospital, waiting for news about an 11-year-old boy that she said was \u201cthe funniest, goofiest kid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a little comedian,\u201d Weatherford said, speaking before Thomas\u2019s death. \u201cHe makes everybody smile. He\u2019s such a cool kid.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

While doctors performed tests and she watched her friends brace for the worst, Weatherford said she \u201cfelt so helpless.\u201d On Sunday, she created a GoFundMe page to help the Larrys pay for Thomas\u2019s medical expenses. By early Monday, it had collected more than $8,000.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing else you can do\u201d except pray, Weatherford said. \u201cI don\u2019t know how else to help them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Thomas\u2019s older brother John was also on the lake when the catamaran caught fire. He watched as a medical crew worked on Thomas and took him away in an ambulance, Weatherford said.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said the Larry boys were taught \u201cto work hard and be responsible.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re on a lake with the Boy Scouts,\u201d Weatherford said. \u201cThat sounds like the safest thing ever.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Anderson said he wasn\u2019t aware of any youth Boy Scout fatalities in East Texas in recent memory. Troops there go camping all the time, he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The accident is being investigated by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department\u2019s boating accident reconstruction and mapping team, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/morning-mix\/wp\/2017\/08\/07\/boy-scouts-sailing-lesson-turns-deadly-when-mast-strikes-power-lines-on-texas-lake\/?utm_term=.2d994bf15e63<\/span><\/p>\n

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