Wave of Summer Drownings Spurs Fresh US Water-Safety Warnings

A succession of fatal water accidents across the United States has left at least nine people dead in the past three weeks and spurred renewed warnings from safety officials as summer heat drives more visitors to rivers, lakes and trails. In North Texas, authorities recovered the body of Dallas firefighter Juan Omar Chaidez on 22 June after he disappeared while kayaking on Lake Lavon. A week later, 28-year-old Cleveland Whiteside of Mississippi went under while swimming near Pier 121 Marina on Lake Lewisville; divers found his body on 29 June, Texas Game Wardens said. Elsewhere, an unidentified man drowned in Utah’s Huntington Reservoir on 6 July, and another man died the same day while trying to reach a struggling swimmer in New York’s Great Sacandaga Lake, local sheriffs reported. In Arizona, 51-year-old San Diego native Jeff Brady was swept away and drowned in the Colorado River on 5 July after pulling two boys to safety. The National Park Service confirmed that a 67-year-old hiker from Alvarado, Texas, collapsed and died on 8 July while climbing back up the Grand Canyon’s South Kaibab Trail, where midday temperatures can top 120 °F. Park rangers again urged visitors to avoid inner-canyon hikes during peak heat hours. Additional incidents include a 16-year-old who died saving a friend in an unspecified river on 7 July and a North Carolina case in which a 14-year-old boy and his mother drowned after she attempted a rescue. Not every outcome was fatal: in Everett, Washington, 13-year-old Guage Bryant dove under a dock on 8 July to pull an 11-year-old from the water, actions firefighters said likely saved the child’s life. Agencies involved in the recent responses—including Dallas Fire-Rescue, Texas Game Wardens and the National Park Service—are urging the public to wear life jackets, monitor weather conditions and supervise children closely. “Drownings happen quickly, and often they are silent,” Everett Fire Department officials said, echoing nationwide appeals for vigilance around water and in extreme heat.