Man Dies In Boating Accident at Prairie Creek Reservoir

(PRAIRIE CREEK) – Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a fatal boating accident that occurred this morning on Prairie Creek Reservoir in Delaware County.

The accident was first reported at approximately 10:40 a.m. to the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department. When first responders arrived on scene, the male victim, Lenard L. Anderson, age 71, of Muncie, had been recovered from the water by witnesses, and CPR had been started.

Efforts to revive Anderson were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.

Anderson was ejected from the boat he was operating after a collision with another vessel. Witnesses indicated that he may have had a medical emergency before the accident. The victim was not wearing a life jacket or his engine cutoff lanyard prior to the collision. The victim’s boat continued operating in circles on the reservoir until Conservation Officers disabled the motor with the use of a throw rope.

Indiana Conservation Officers would like to remind the boating public of the importance of wearing safety equipment while underway.