WINFIELD, W.Va. — Natural Resources Police have identified the victim of a fatal fishing incident from the weekend.
David Williams, 76, of Hurricane suffered a medical episode and fell into the water from a boat on the Kanawha River.
Williams was fishing with a friend Saturday when he appeared to have suffered a heart attack. The incident caused both men to fall into the water.
“Both of them were wearing life jackets,” said Natural Resources Police Sgt. Jerry Payne. “But while they were in the water he had something medical and died in the water.”
Despite his condition, Payne said Williams almost made it to the shore.
“The witness said they were both in the water and the witness was making his way toward the bank,” said Payne. “When he got to the bank, he tried to pull himself up and just rolled over and past away.”
Williams had a history of medical problems according to his family. The other angler, who was 78, manage to climb back into the boat.
The incident happened in the backwater of the river at the mouth of Armor Creek.