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2002-11-08 Incident
Peacock Springs State Park, Orange Grove Sink, November 8, 2002
No official IUCRR report was submitted for this incident.
If details in the informal description deviate from any official data, the official data is the defining authority.
Informal description:
Due to a history of heart problems, and 2nd hand information on the autopsy, it is likely this was not a skill-related accident, but an accident due to medical causes. This is not an official determination inasmuch as the IUCRR is not capable of making such a determination. However, here is a narrative by an experienced cave diver on the scene:
Victim did have an apparent heart attack about 800′-850′ back in Orange Grove. He was diving in a team of two (actually there were two teams of two). There were several of us there as a group from Pittsburgh. Victim indicated he was OK several times on the way in to his partner, they turned the dive 700′ from Challenge, the other team of two kept going. On the way back Victim was second and indicated OK several times. His partner looked back and noticed his light was not moving, turned and found Victim in a dome, motionless. No response, regulator in mouth, mask on, equipment in tact. Team two then came upon Victim and buddy. One member from team two and Victim’s buddy went to get help (me) and to call 911. Bill Stape, from Wellborn Fla, who was part of team two, began extrication of victim. Victim was brought to surface by Bill. Ambulance crew could not revive.
The following information was acquired from the Suwannee County Sheriffs Department:
PENNSYLVANIA MAN DIES IN PEACOCK SPRINGS
Case #02-40293
At approximately 1:58 PM on Friday, November 8th, Suwannee County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Senea was dispatched to Peacock Springs in southwest Suwannee County in reference to a report of a man having a heart attack while diving in an underwater cave. Upon arrival, Deputy Senea found Suwannee County EMS paramedics Jack Corbin and Jane Nolan attempting CPR on a 58 year old man from Pittsburg, PA. The victim was pronounced dead at 2:15 PM.
According to co-diver Jack Haller, he and the victim were diving in about 70 feet of water. They became separated and when he located the victim a short time later, he appeared to be having a heart attack. Haller surfaced and called 911 on his cell phone.
Haller and another diver, Richard Blackburn from Smyrna, GA, then went back in and brought the victim to the surface and begin CPR.
The victim’s body was taken to the medical examiner’s office in Jacksonville for an autopsy.