Authorities urging boaters to ride safely
A Putnam man was killed in a boating accident on Lake Sinclair Wednesday evening, March 4, authorities say.
Christopher “Chris” Lovin, 55, of Putnam County, was killed when his 2018 Sea-Doo 300 watercraft hit a wake and he was ejected, according to Sgt. Bubba Stanford with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Lovin retired from the military and moved to Lake Sinclair with his wife in 2019, said Putnam County Sheriff’s Lt. Harry Luke. The couple had been out that day working on their dock when Lovin decided to go for a personal watercraft ride to cool off and relax.
Stanford and Luke both told The Eatonton Messenger reporter that witnesses told them Lovin was riding back and forth in the main lake between Shelton Drive and Tanglewood, about one-half to three-quarters of a mile from Twin Bridges marina when the accident happened. He reportedly was wearing a life jacket.
“Witnesses on the shores of both sides of the lake launched their own boats and went out to rescue him,” Stanford said. “They found him unconscious and not breathing and they pulled him out and did CPR until EMS arrived, but he remained unresponsive.”
The witnesses took Lovin to Twin Bridges Marina and continued their rescue efforts while waiting for EMS.
It appears Lovin was going at a high rate of speed, Stanford said, and when his watercraft hit the wake, it caused the Sea-Doo to turn and he was thrown through the air before hitting the water. Stanford emphasized there was no damage to the watercraft to indicate that Lovin ran into anything in the water such as a log.
“I want to stress for people to be safe and cautious on our waterways,” the game warden said. “And also I want to thank the witnesses who rushed to the aid of their fellowman. They did their best to save him, as I hope anybody else out there would have done, and I thank them.”
DNR continues to investigate the factors involved in the accident. Stanford said they are checking the data on the watercraft to find out the speed it was traveling when it crashed.
“That may not have been a factor, and we may never know what caused him to be ejected,” he explained. “But we are investigating it to see. … Right now, we are just starting the busy season on the lake. We’ve already had four boating fatalities on Lake Sinclair since October and only one of those involved two vessels colliding, the rest involved only one vessel I hope people will learn from this to be safe out there so we won’t have anymore.”
Before retiring to the lake, Lovins served 21 years in the Army, followed by being a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service.
“Chris loved to sing karaoke with his wife. He loved the lake life, loved fishing and boating and also loved his Corvette. He was a die-hard Braves and Falcons fan. He loved to laugh and made everyone around him laugh a lot,” reveals his obituary from Williams Funeral Home.
He is survived by his wife, Katherine, two sons and stepson, his father and others.