Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 21, 1993                   TAG: 9306210092
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ROANOKE MAN DROWNS AT LAKE

William David Jones III, 33, of Rutherford Avenue, was swimming with four friends shortly after midnight when he began to struggle in the water.

Two other swimmers attempted to help him but were unsuccessful, according to Sgt. Steve Pike of the state Game and Inland Fisheries Department.

Pike said Jones - who had been diving from a dock and swimming for at least half an hour - may have suffered from fatigue or cramps.

"All indications are that he was a good swimmer," he said.

The drowning happened near the Becky's Creek section of the lake, off Virginia 949 in Franklin County.

It was the second fatality on Smith Mountain Lake this year, Pike said. While that already surpasses last year's total of just one drowning, Pike said the hotter weather this year may be to blame.

"The heat and humidity are drawing more people into the water sports this year than last," he said.

Later Sunday, Pike was called to Big Island in Bedford County for what would have been a second drowning - but for the actions of two men.

Pike credited the men with saving the life of a 5-year-old child who fell into the James River.

Herby Fitzgerald, a 22-year-old aviation electrician for the Navy, said he was riding a jet ski about 4 p.m. when he heard people shouting.

Fitzgerald's friend, E.C. Bondurant, swam under water until he found the boy and handed him to Fitzgerald, waiting on a nearby dock.

The child's face and lips were blue as he began to perform CPR, Fitzgerald said. After several minutes, he had the child breathing again just as an ambulance pulled up.

Keywords:
FATALITY