Questions to consider after reading the article:
Since the JWs claim to adhere strictly to Bible guidelines and they make certain rules or interpretations of the scriptures, should the survivors who were baptized face a Judicial Committee for putting their lives and the lives of others at risk? After all, they got on a boat that basically was being operated illegally (too many passengers and not enough life jackets).
Should the Captain and/or Owner of the boat be DFd for bloodguilt?
Why did the Columnist have to say that they were JWs?
Did you notice that no one took an opportunity to give a "witness" to the reporter?
Any other questions that come up?
By the way, I am not minimizing the tragedy of what occurred. I am sad to read about people dying. I am just posing some of the questions that popped into my head after I read the article.
The article link is here (you may have to register first...it's free): http://www.dallasnews.com/localnews/stories/092402dnmetlake.1205.html
Woman's courageous swim brings help
Search resumes for three missing boaters
09/24/2002
By ROBERT THARP / The Dallas Morning News
Help was a dim flicker of light on the far southeastern shore of Lake Ray Hubbard for Sarah Guzman when 10 members of three panicked families abandoned their sinking boat overnight Sunday.
With just two life jackets among them, the 22-year-old Dallas woman cast aside her fear of the water as the others in the water cried for help, beginning what would be a swim of more than a mile.
"The only thing I could think was 'I need help,' and I began to swim," she said. "I've always been very afraid of the water, but at that moment, I don't know, I became very courageous."
| (DALLAS WEB STAFF) |
Elizabeth Guzman's fiance, Josue Castro, 21, was listed as missing, along with Miguel Holguin, 38, and 12-year-old Norma Holguin. Recovery efforts will resume Tuesday morning.
The group had been together on a 16-foot motorboat since about 6 p.m. Sunday on a recreational outing, family and rescue workers said. They launched from John Paul Jones Park on the Garland side of the lake and had been on the water long enough to need to refuel Sunday evening, police said. Investigators also were trying to determine why the group was on the water for so long at night.
At some point, the boat struck a rock or a tree stump, but those inside the craft were not alarmed. But about midnight, the boat started taking on water rapidly. The passengers tried unsuccessfully to bail water and became desperate.
Calls in darkness
Sarah Guzman said she heard many calls for help in the darkness as she started to swim for the shore. She made it to the rocky beach on the southeastern side of the lake about 3:30 a.m., where her calls for help woke Gary Gilliam.
Although Ms. Guzman spoke only Spanish, Mr. Gilliam said it quickly became clear that there were others in danger in the water. Irene Alvarez, who works for the Gilliam family, was called to help translate.
"She said she needed help and that nine more people were out there, and they were drowning," Ms. Alvarez said. "She said none of them had life jackets."
Mr. Gilliam used his personal watercraft to begin searching for survivors before rescue teams from Dallas and Rockwall arrived. A game warden in a boat spotted the survivors floating in the water. An 18-year-old woman with a life jacket was holding two boys, ages 6 and 15. A 20-year-old man with a life jacket had separated from the group and was found floating by himself.
None of the dead or missing had flotation devices, and investigators said they are trying to determine why the boat did not have the required number of life jackets. State law requires that children under 13 wear life jackets and that all others on board have one within reach. The boat, which was owned by a family member of one of the missing women, had not been recovered Monday.
Boats 16 feet and longer also must have a flotation device that can be thrown from the craft. Texas Parks and Wildlife Lt. Col. Roy Lawrence said there are no restrictions on the number of people on a boat, so boaters must use common sense.
Nighttime danger
Boating at night is also more dangerous than in daylight because the darkness can affect depth perception, he said.
Dallas city officials are investigating whether a phone outage in Dallas played a role in the time it took Dallas authorities to respond to the accident. Col. Lawrence said that 911 service had been restored by the time the first emergency call from Mr. Gilliam, but Dallas city officials are investigating reports that it took 20 minutes for a police helicopter to be dispatched to search for the victims. Not all regular phone service had been restored at that time.
The survivors and victims were members of the three families who attended the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall on Forney Road, relatives said.
By 9 a.m., Mr. Castro's younger brother said he held out little hope that he would be found alive. Rescue workers agreed shortly after noon, when they said they were working only a recovery operation.
"All the people were my family," he said. "Some are not family, but very close friends, so it's all the same."
Staff writers Richard Abshire and Tanya Eiserer and Kimberly Durnan of the Dallas Web staff contributed to this report.
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