Springville man drowns at Yuba Lake, body recovered
Jun 13, 2020, 6:28 PM | Updated: Jun 15, 2020, 7:37 am
Yuba Lake is one of 10 fisheries where fishing limits have been increased. (Photo: KSL.com)
(Photo: KSL.com)
FAYETTE, Utah — Rescuers have recovered the body of a Springville man who drowned in Yuba Lake Saturday. Officials report the 22-year-old man drowned after a WaveRunner accident while boating with friends.
Around 9:51 a.m., the Juab County Sheriff’s Office received a call about a drowning at the lake, according to Chief Deputy Brent Pulver. A search and rescue team, including divers, responded immediately to the scene.
Juab County Sheriff’s Office says 22-year-old Luis Leon from Springville was riding a WaveRunner with his friend when they took a sharp turn and flew off the jet ski. They say Leon wasn’t wearing a life jacket and never resurfaced from the water.
A group of friends witnessed the accident and called it in, Pulver said.
Ty Hunter with Utah State Parks told KSL-TV this was the seventh drowning death so far in Utah this year. Hunter also says that six of those seven deaths could have been prevented had people been wearing their life jackets.
“We need to change how we look at life jackets. We need to look at them as our seatbelts. We need to have our kids reminding us. We need to be reminding one another,” Hunter said.
Hunter is also concerned about the number of drownings. Utah usually only has nine a year.
Two people have drowned on Utah Lake so far this year, two on Lake Powell, one on the Great Salt Lake, and one at Quail Creek Reservoir.
