Gwinnett County man drowns in Chattahoochee River on Sunday

Gwinnett County Fire and Emergency Services reports that a Gwinnett County man drowned in the Chattahoochee River at Settles Bridge Park in Suwanee on Sunday, July 30, 2017. GCFES report that firefighters responded to a 911 call of a man, about 18 years of age, being unaccounted for after jumping into the river from the old bridge structure at Settles Bridge Park and not resurfacing. He was with a group of friends when the incident happened. It was reported that he resurfaced once and appeared to be in distress. One of his friends and another person tried to rescue him, but he became combative and went back underwater and then did not resurface. He was not wearing a life jacket.

Rescue boats from Gwinnett Fire and John’s Creek Fire responded to search the river. The Hall County Dive Team were called in but before they arrived the man was located at 8:52 p.m. in about 10 foot of water. He was on the bottom of the river, about 50 yards downstream from the bride.  Despite life support efforts, the man was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at Northside Forsyth Hospital in Cumming. His name has not been released yet by GCFES due to HIPAA laws.

The U.S. Park Service and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) were notified about the incident. According to officials, it is illegal to climb on or jump from the old bridge structure. Life jackets are also required on the river at Settles Bridge.