An 8-year-old girl died after a propeller of a boat struck her body on Sunday, July 28 in southern Indiana.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) said that the girl was boating with her father and friends in Lake Monroe at the time of the accident.
The girl, identified as Callee Crones-Arias by the Monroe County Coroner’s Office, was taken to IU Health in Bloomington Hospital and was later pronounced dead. She was wearing a life jacket at the time, according to the DNR.
“Last night at 6:30 we certainly had a tragedy here at the lake. A young girl, in her day, went from big fun on the water, unfortunately, to a fatality,” Indiana DNR Lt. Angela Goldman said on Monday, WTHR reported.
The news outlet said the girl, who was from Martinsville, suffered injuries to her “chest, abdomen and lower extremities” after she was struck by a boat propeller.
“Anytime out here on the water, it can turn into a tragedy in a minute, and that can happen in a number of ways. So it’s important, so important that you watch everyone on the boat. The smallest child to the adult they need to be safe. They need to be safe around the motor and the propeller. They need their life jacket on and everybody needs to be aware of what to do in case of emergency.” Goldman added.
Additional details will be released as they become available.
The accident remains under investigation and authorities say additional details will be released as they become available. The autopsy is scheduled in Terre Haute for Tuesday, July 30.
Lake Monroe is a reservoir about 10 miles southeast of Bloomington.
Teen Drowns in Massachusetts Lake
In Massachusetts, a college-bound teen died earlier this month while on a lake.
A Nepalese 18-year-old high school graduate who was celebrating his last summer before attending a Boston college in the fall has tragically died after drowning in a Massachusetts lake on July 1, police said.
Recent Medford High School graduate Apurba Devkota was enjoying his final summer when the tragedy struck on Monday night, heartbroken family members said, reported the Boston Globe.
A high school graduate celebrating his last summer with friends before heading off to college drowned in a Massachusetts lake, his shattered relatives and police said. https://t.co/7LOV2jqkLS
— Joshua Rhett Miller (@joshuarhett) July 3, 2019
The aspiring aeronautical engineer, who was supposed to begin his math and biology degree at the University of Massachusetts Amherst this fall, was found by divers 20 feet underwater in Upper Mystic Lake in Medford.
Speaking to the Boston Globe on July 2, the teen’s sister, Asmita Devkota, spoke in disbelief.
“He just told me he was going to a party to hang out with his friends, and I thought it would be a barbecue or something,” she said. “I didn’t know it would be a lake.”
When divers recovered the teen’s body underwater, he was rushed to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at around 10 p.m. Authorities have described the incident as a tragic accident. No foul play is suspected.
The Medford teen who drowned is confirmed as Apurba Devkota (left).
Apu moved to Medford from Nepal in 2016. He did web design.
If you want to read his website and look at his work, you can do so here: https://t.co/onl3xw0vMR
Nobody deserves to be forgotten.
Rest easy, Apu. pic.twitter.com/ONnNSDT2jd
— MHS Archive (Mr. Archive) (@TheMHSArchive) July 2, 2019
According to a statement from a Tufts spokesperson, obtained by the Boston Herald, a notice was in place which highlighted the “dangerous” swimming conditions, reportedly due to the number of active boating lanes near the area.
The Epoch Times reporter Isabel Van Brugen contributed to this report.
