A man pulled from Joe Pool Lake Thursday evening has died, and his teenage son will not make it.
The two were pulled from the water in the beach area at Lynn Creek Park shortly after 6:30 p.m.
The 39-year-old man died at a hospital, and his 17-year-old son will not survive.
"He has pulses; but essentially, he has no brain function," says Grand Prairie Assistant Fire Chief Bill Murphy, "and he is not going to recover."
The two victims were Mexican nationals.
"They've made contact with his mother in Mexico, and she's trying to get up here," says Assistant Chief Murphy. ":And more than likely when she gets here, they will take him off life support."
We're not officially into summer yet, and this is shaping up to be a bad year for drownings in Joe Pool Lake.
"Sadly, it's our fourth, and we're just at the start of the season," says Murphy. "A lot of times, we haven't had any at this point or maybe one, but four is not a good start to the year."
Murphy says like the previous drowning victims this year, neither victim was wearing a life jacket.
He says wearing a life jacket, especially in Joe Pool Lake, is of utmost importance.
"There are drop offs (and) there are holes out there," says Murphy. "You step off in one, you're in waist-deep water; next minute, you're in 10 feet of water."
And he says it doesn't matter what one's skill level is; everyone needs to wear a life jacket in the lake at all times.
"Last year, we had a young man drown out there, and he had been a lifeguard," Murphy says. "So it doesn't matter what your capabilities are, it can happen to anyone, anytime. That's why it's so important to wear the life jackets."
Murphy says in this instance, wearing a life jacket would have made all the difference in the world.
"I have never pulled a drowning victim from the water out there that had a life jacket on," says Murphy. "I mean, it's 100% preventable."
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