Authorities: Corry fisherman, 80, dies in drowning after boat capsizes at Eaton Reservoir
Angler fell in water when boat tipped over, coroner says. Another fisherman survived. Both were wearling life jackets, Second drowning in Erie County in three days.
NORTH EAST — Authorities suspect that an 80-year-old Corry man who was fishing with another man at the Howard Eaton Reservoir in Greenfield Township on Monday afternoon stood up in their 10-foot boat when he fell into the water.
Both men were wearing life jackets, were rescued from the water and were taken to the hospital, authorities said.
The fisherman, identified by Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook on Tuesday as Gerald Lindenberger, was pronounced dead in the emergency room of UPMC Hamot, making him the second drowning victim in Erie County in three days.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is continuing its investigation into Monday afternoon's accident, which was reported at 2 p.m. at the reservoir, near the New York state line in eastern Erie County.
Authorities said Lindenberger and a 75-year-old man were fishing at the reservoir when it is believed that Lindenberger stood up in the boat and the vessel capsized. Both men went into the water, according to reports.
Cook said Lindenberger was in the water for about 30 minutes before rescuers pulled him out.
Lindenberger and the other man were both wearing life jackets, said Mike Parker, communications director for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission.
Lindenberger was taken to UPMC Hamot, where he was pronounced dead on Monday at 3:22 p.m., Cook said. The coroner said the cause of death was drowning, and he ruled the death as accidental.
The other man was taken to the hospital and was treated for hypothermia and released, Parker said.
Lindenberger's death is the third boating-related fatality in Pennsylvania so far this year, Parker said.
In the other Erie County drowning, a 3-year-old boy drowned in Lake Erie in Harborcreek Township on Saturday after wandering into the water, authorities said.
The boy, Anthony Rodrigues, had been staying at a relative's house, state police said.
Lake Erie drowning:3-year-old who drowned in Lake Erie Saturday wandered from relative's house in Harborcreek
The boy's death remains under investigation.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNhahn.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNpalattella.