Words Can’t Express
Father’s Day was last weekend, and the Fourth of July will be here before we know it.
But what is holiday time off with family for most folks is by and large just another workday for game wardens and other peace officers and first-responder types.
Yep - first responders miss many of their holiday gatherings to increase the chances that you will be safe at yours.
“Increase the chances” because horrible things can happen in an instant. My worst day as a game warden was on a Father’s Day about 20 years ago.
After patrolling a popular picnic/party area on the coast by boat and writing a couple of water safety violations, I left for a while to take a break and check another, less congested, spot. I was the only game warden on the water in that county at the time.
I was clipping along at a pretty good pace when I felt my work phone vibrate in my shirt pocket. Throttling down, I fumbled around and answered before the call went to voice mail. It was one of my game warden partners.
“Are you on the water?”
“Yeah, what’s up?” “The PD received a call about a jet-ski running over some kids…” My heart sank as my partner finished giving me the details. The accident was near the area I had just left.
I spun the boat around, throttled up and hammered down to get there. Thousands of thoughts raced through my mind along the way.
I knew many kids in the community – MY kids were friends with some of them. Wait – where was Amy (my daughter) today? And on… and on.
I don’t want to go into a lot of detail about what I saw when I got there. Police vehicles and ambulances were parked on a street that ran along the canal where two vessels were involved in a recreational boating accident.
Three teenagers had already been taken to the hospital. I found out the fate of one when I contacted the first witness, a distraught woman talking on her phone. Whoever she was talking to was obviously having a hard time processing what she was saying.
Exasperated, the woman moved the phone away from her ear, held it out in front of her, and screamed, “ S h e ’ s DEAD!”
Words can’t express what a horrible day that was for the family and all involved.
Many times, we tend to think things like that happen because someone was drunk, drugged-up or acting crazy. None of that was the case here. First responders work cases like this all the time and dealing with death is difficult. I don’t know if I would’ve lasted long as a peace officer if I had to investigate fatalities all the time like some officers in other agencies do.
Game wardens are responsible for investigating and reporting on boating accidents, drownings, and hunting accidents/ fatalities.
Boating, swimming and hunting are all activities associated with family and fun. When terrible things happen at these types of get-togethers, the transition from happy-fun-time to tragedy is horrific.
There is risk in everything we do, but we can all cut that risk significantly by being prepared. Many laws associated with water safety and hunting mandate preparedness.
Regarding water safety - that’s why that game warden turns on the redand- blues and pulls you over when you’re minding your own business and behaving yourself as you run your boat to that perfect spot on the lake to watch the fireworks display on the Fourth of July.
That game warden wants to make sure you have all the equipment and/or certifications you may need if things go awry.
As always, if you have any questions about regulations or conditions pertaining to water safety in a particular area, call a game warden. God Bless.
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