Boy Scouts killed in boating accident

Avinger, TX (August 6, 2017) – Authorities say two Texas Boy Scouts were killed and another critically hurt when their sailboat hit an overhead power line and apparently electrocuted the youths.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department says the accident happened yesterday afternoon at the Alley Creek area of Lake O’ The Pines near Avinger, 150 miles east of Dallas.

Agency spokesman Steve Lightfoot today said that Boy Scouts ages 18 and 16 died at the scene, while an 11-year-old was critically injured and hospitalized in Shreveport, Louisiana. Their names weren’t immediately released.

All were from Troop 620 in Hallsville and wore personal flotation devices. Lightfoot says the Hobie catamaran was on fire, with sails up, when game wardens arrived shortly before 2:00pm.

Wardens discovered an 18-year-old male on board and a 16-year-old in the water a short distance away. Both victims suffered severe bodily injuries and were deceased. A third unresponsive 11-year-old victim was located in a boat nearby and was being provided CPR by good Samaritans.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s statewide boating accident reconstruction and mapping team are investigating the incident. However, Lightfoot says the preliminary investigation indicates the sailboat came in contact with the power line.

UPDATE (August 7, 2017) – Local media identified the deceased as both Eagle Scouts – Will Brannon, 17 and Heath Faucheux, 16. The injured is Thomas Larry, 11. “Thomas is at LSU (hospital) in Shreveport on life support,” reports Kelly Camp Weatherford, a friend of the Larry family. “They did a partial test for brain functions but they were negative. … They are not very optimistic but there is a chance.”

UPDATE (August 7, 2017) – A third Boy Scout has died from injuries suffered when a sailboat struck an overhanging power line at Lake O’ the Pines. Texas Parks & Wildlife spokesman Steve Lightfoot said the 11-year-old Scout died Monday. Thomas Larry was hospitalized at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport following the accident Saturday. The boy was sailing in a catamaran with two older boys, 17-year-old Will Brannon and 16-year-old Heath Faucheux, when the mast struck the power line.