Red Bank, SC (Paul Kirby) – Deputies with several law enforcement agencies were on the scene Saturday of what appeared to be an accidental drowning on Bledsoe Road off Sease Hill Road in the Red Bank area of the county. They were called to the home shortly after 8:30 a.m.
Lexington County EMS, a fire engine from Red Bank, special equipment from the fire service, as well as deputies from several agencies, were all dispatched to a possible drowning at a home on that road. This is not far from the old Red Bank Mill Pond. Dispatchers advised the emergency personnel that a caller had reported someone was found tangled in a pool cover. The caller said that the individual was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse.
The area was cordoned off with crime scene tape as an investigation into the incident was ongoing Saturday. The coroner has not given any indication that this was anything more than an accident. Scenes like this would be treated as a crime scene until a full investigation is completed as a precaution.
Emergency personnel had been busy all night after strong storms pounded the county. Trees and powerlines were brought down all over the area. Officials we spoke with say they didn't want to speculate on what occurred until the coroner finished her investigation. A seasoned investigator did say that he believed it would be feasible for someone to struggle with a windblown cover and get hopelessly tangled in it. Even after the winds had calmed, struggling with a pool cover full of water could be difficult. If that person lost his footing in the high winds or while pulling at the cover, he very well could have fallen into and drowned in the water. "Again, this is not to say that this is what happened and Coroner Fisher's staff will eventually make that determination," according to the investigator with more than three decades of experience.
