SUMMERSVILLE, WV -- A prominent member of the Circleville community died over the weekend after an accident on a whitewater rafting trip in West Virginia.
In West Virginia, the days after Labor Day are known as "Gauley Season." The boating season is over, and park officials begin releasing water into the Upper Gauley River.
The addition of the water makes the five sections of class five rapids especially challenging for kayakers and whitewater rafters who love to run the river when the water is high and the weather is still nice.
Eric Clark, 40, was one of four rafters who met with their guide on the upper Gauley River Saturday morning.
The trained and licensed guides in the area serve as crewmasters on the inflated rafts, sitting on the back of the raft and steering while calling out for the "civilians" on the trip to paddle as the Gauley twists through the New River Gorge National River Park. The guide works for Adventure West Virginia Resort and this is a busy time of year for these trips for people eager to experience the five "Class V" rapids, the most difficult to navigate.
Early in the trip at the tame-sounding "insignificant rapid," the raft tipped out the four guests and the guide.
The guide was able to grab on to his own raft and get aboard. The four men were quickly picked up by other rafts nearby, summoned by the blowing of a whistle.
They picked up the four who were in the water at about 10:30 a.m., seemingly safe because of the water vests and the protective helmets all were wearing.
Clark was semi-conscious when he was pulled into a boat. He was immediately taken to shore where his condition worsened. Clark was placed on a backboard and given CPR immediately. He was transported by JanCare ambulance to Summersville Memorial Hospital with help from the New River Gorge National River Park Service rangers, local volunteer fire and rescue teams, according to a report by the park service.
The cause of death has not yet been determined.
A park ranger told NBC 4 two registered nurses were among those in the parties who rescued the four from the tipped over raft and they provided immediate aid. He said rafts tip over often, but it is seldom that the accidents result in fatalities. When they do, they often learn some underlying medical condition contributed to the death.
Clark leaves a wife, three children and parents with whom he worked as an engineer. Services are pending with Schoedinger in Circleville.
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