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Ohio tourist attempting to help his wife is pinned and dies tying up houseboat
By Chris Harris | Posted: Tuesday, August 18, 2015 7:45 am
Burnside Marina
Burnside Marina, near where the fatal accident Saturday took place.
An evening on the lake turned tragic this weekend when an Ohio man was killed while attempting to tie up a houseboat on Pitman Creek.
David Zuver, 58, of Archbold, Ohio, was pronounced dead at Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital by the Pulaski County Coroner’s Office following the accident which took place Saturday evening at around 7:30 p.m.
Tiger Robinson, Pulaski County Public Safety Director, was among the responders at the scene. He said that they got a call of a possible incidence of a man being struck by a boat. The Somerset-Pulaski County Rescue Squad and Burnside Fire Department responded to the scene.
Robinson said that they took boats out from Burnside Marina to the cove on Pitman Creek where the accident occurred, around three miles away from the marina. Personnel from Kentucky Fish & Wildlife were attempting CPR on Zuver, said Robinson, and the victim was loaded on a boat and taken back to Burnside Marina, from which he was taken to the hospital.
Robinson said that Zuver was with his wife, Cheryl, and another friend on a houseboat that they had rented for the outing from Burnside Maria, and was attempting to tie up the houseboat in the cove when the accident occurred.
“In the process (of tying up the boat), the wife fell, and the husband was trying to get to her,” said Robinson. “There was a third person maneuvering the boat.”
The boat moved and pinned the victim between the houseboat and a red clay dirt bank, said Robinson. He was pinned against his chest.
Pulaski County Coroner Clyde Strunk said that David Zuver apparently died as a result of blunt force trauma.
“He somehow got pinched between the boat and the bank,” said Strunk.
Robinson said that Burnside Marina had a dockhand available that was able to quickly get emergency personnel to the scene of the accident and back. “It really cut down on the response time,” said Robinson.
Mark Marraccini, Kentucky Fish & Wildlife spokesperson, said that Cheryl Zuver suffered injuries to her leg, specifically her left foot and ankle.
He said that a preliminary investigation determined that the boat struck Cheryl Zuver and pinned her against the bank at first, and then pinned her husband when he tried to help. Marraccini added that the accident is still under investigation.
Burnside Marina released a statement following the accident which said that the marina’s staff “responded quickly and professionally while working in conjunction” with emergency responders.
“The Burnside Resort and Marina family extends heartfelt condolences and prayers to the family and friends of the man killed in a boating accident last night on Lake Cumberland,” Rick Thomas, Senior Vice President of Operations for Burnside Resort and Marina, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Thomas added, “We were very proud of how the first responders and our staff worked together; our prayers are with everyone involved.”
CHRIS HARRIS, staff writer, can be reached at charris@somerset-kentucky.com.