ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, July 9, 1996 TAG: 9607090062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
The potential was there for problems.
An armada of more than 2,000 boats - representing states as far away as Hawaii - converged on a corner of Smith Mountain Lake on Friday night to watch a Fourth of July fireworks show.
Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries said you "could walk from boat to boat across the lake without getting your feet wet."
With that many boats, alcohol and a festive atmosphere, Martin and patrol officers on the lake were expecting a few accidents.
None happened.
Game wardens - with the help of Franklin County sheriff's deputies - also set up a sobriety checkpoint on the Roanoke River arm of the lake after the fireworks show. They lined up patrol boats across a narrow stretch of the lake and stopped boaters going in either direction.
Over a three-hour period, only one person was charged with operating a boat while drinking.
Martin - who helps coordinate the law enforcement efforts on Smith Mountain and Philpott lakes - said an increased patrol presence on the lakes this year made an impact on public attitudes.
For the first time, a federal grant paid Franklin County deputies this year to work patrol shifts at both lakes over the July Fourth week.
With more manpower, Martin said patrols were on the lakes almost around the clock from June 30 to July7.
The five patrol boats on Smith Mountain Lake - which has 500 miles of shoreline - used more than 1,000 gallons of gas.
But while there were no boating or personal watercraft mishaps that resulted in fatalities, the holiday weekend wasn't accident-free.
The most serious crash occurred July 4 on Philpott Lake. Martin said Timothy Walsh, 35, of Winston Salem, N.C., was attempting to parasail from the shore when he lost his balance, tumbled across the water and was struck by a boat operated by his wife.
Walsh broke his pelvis and his wrist and was treated for hypothermia by Game Warden Daryl Hatcher, who is also a paramedic.
Walsh has been transferred to a hospital in Winston-Salem, Martin said.
The same day on Smith Mountain Lake, Martin said, David Lee, 48, of Roanoke left the wheel of his pontoon boat to participate in some "horseplay" with his wife, Helen.
A few minutes later, Martin said, Helen Lee fell between the pontoons and narrowly missed hitting her head on the boat's propeller.
The prop did injure her legs, and she's recovering at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
David Lee has been charged with reckless operation of a motorboat, Martin said.
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