Teen Dies After Plunge Into Lake Three Passengers Escape From Car
A Meridian, Idaho, teenager died Friday morning after the car he was driving careered into Fernan Lake.
Jeffrey T. Seamons, 19, spent about 45 minutes under the frigid lake water before Kootenai County sheriff’s dive team members were able to pull him out.
He was transported to Kootenai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead, according to an Idaho State Police report.
It appears Seamons was not injured in the wreck and tried to escape from the submerged car but wasn’t able to, said Jody Deluca, Kootenai County chief deputy coroner.
“It was a really hopeless feeling looking out 20 feet in the water and knowing there was a guy in there and there was nothing we could do,” said Chris Juhlin, 20, of Post Falls.
Juhlin and another man tried to swim out and free Seamons from the sunken car but had to turn back because of the icy water temperature.
A group of about 20 young adults had spent Thursday evening at a bonfire party on Fernan Lake, Juhlin said.
He said Seamons left with several other students about five minutes before him.
Idaho State Police say it appears Seamons had been drinking and was driving too fast as he headed west on Fernan Road. Josh M. Cole, 19, of Meridian; Timothy J. Clapp, 19, of Coeur d’Alene; and Daniel M. Hansley, 19, of Coeur d’Alene, were passengers in Seamons’ car.
About 1:20 a.m. Friday, Seamons failed to make it around a sharp curve in the road, slid through a turnout and rolled his vehicle down an embankment into Fernan Lake, according to an ISP report.
The car sunk under the water. Cole, Clapp and Hansley were able to escape and swim to shore. They told authorities that Seamons tried to get out but was unable to, Deluca said.
Juhlin was driving along the road when someone stopped him and told him that a car had gone into the lake. A group of partygoers had gathered at the shore.
“The car was about 20 or 30 feet out in the water,” Juhlin said. “It was head-first down. The people were all screaming ‘Do something. There’s a guy in there.”’
Juhlin and a friend stripped off their clothes and tried to swim out to the car.
“The water was so cold we couldn’t even breathe,” Juhlin said, explaining they finally had to turn back. “Nobody could do anything and they knew someone was in there dying.”
, DataTimes