Pennsylvania drownings highlight river risks

JIM THORPE, PA. » Katelyn Carlisle nervously eyed the murky waters lapping at her feet.

“It’s quick. You gotta swim. You can swim, right?” her friend, Chris Manzi, 23, quipped from the opposite riverbank. With that, Carlisle, 25, jumped into the Lehigh River and began stroking her way to the other side.

Neither of them knew that section of the river had recently claimed two lives in 10 days. Nor had they spotted the warning signs that officials at Lehigh Gorge State Park installed in response: “Notice, dangerous currents, not a designated swimming area.”

As temperatures rise, people are inexorably drawn to water. But several recent drownings highlight anew the hot-weather danger posed by Pennsylvania’s tens of thousands of miles of rivers and creeks, where deceptively strong currents, underwater obstacles and steep drop-offs can make for a deadly combination. Five people have drowned in state park waterways alone so far this year, matching the total for all of 2017.

Tragedy hasn’t been confined to the state parks. A 7-year-old boy waded into central Pennsylvania’s Pine Creek on Tuesday, got out of his depth and drowned. His mother died trying to save him.

“Even people who know rivers and streams can step into a hole and all the sudden you are over your head,” said Terry Brady, spokesman for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Manzi and Carlisle — who live in Denver and Milwaukee and were in Pennsylvania for work — entered the water with a group of co-workers on a cloudless afternoon last week.

The current, at least on the surface, seemed relatively tame. But the river still posed a slight challenge for Carlisle, who had never swam across one before. She paddled in place for several seconds before breaking free of the current and making it to calmer waters.