Two dead in separate water deaths in Greater Columbus over weekend

Two men died in separate water-related incidents over the weekend — a man whose body was discovered after he reportedly fell out of a watercraft at Alum Creek State Park Lake and another who died after a crash into a West Side pond.

The first incident occurred at the state park in Delaware County, where a man was discovered dead Friday evening.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources officers received a report of an abandoned boat near the Hollenback boat ramp around 7:00 p.m., according to a news release. The man’s body was found after a search of the lake around 8:30 p.m., an ODNR representative said.

The identity of the man was not available Friday evening, nor was his cause of death. It was not clear if the man was wearing a life jacket.

An ODNR spokesperson could not be reached for additional comment on Sunday.

The death came a day before Ohio Lt. Governor Jon Husted and ODNR Director Mary Mertz visited Alum Creek State Park Saturday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of a new marina.

The marina christening was commemorated with “Alum Creekend,” a weekend celebration with games, paddling demonstrations, trail hikes, music, fishing and more Saturday and Sunday.

The discovered body was the second death at Alum Creek State Park of the week. On Tuesday, a man drowned and was pronounced dead after falling off a paddle board, WBNS-TV (Channel 10) reported.

The second weekend incident involved a man pulled from a pond by first responders Saturday in West Columbus, according to the Columbus Division of Police.

Around 7:13 p.m., police and rescue teams responded to a call that a vehicle had driven into the pond at Brookview at Templeton Crossing apartments in the 5400 block of Arbrook.

Two people were in the car when it drove into the pond, and one left the vehicle and swam to safety, Columbus Fire Battalion Chief Jeffrey Geitter said.

When rescue crews responded, four police officers were already at the scene and had attempted to rescue the person remaining in the vehicle, Geitter said.

However, the vehicle was submerged in water that was as much as 15 feet deep and the water was murky.

A dive team was able to pull the man from the car in about 20 minutes, Geitter said. He was transported to Ohiohealth Doctor’s Hospital and was pronounced dead at 8:49 p.m., according to a police dispatcher.

The identity of the victim and the events leading up to the incident are not immediately available. A crash report was not available Sunday.

Dispatch reporters Jessica Orozco and Patrick Cooley contributed to this article. Cbehrens@dispatch.com @Colebehr_report