LOWER NAZARETH TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (19 June 2007) -- Three weeks after a 59-year-old man from Binghamton, N.Y., died while scuba diving at Dutch Springs, the cause of death is still pending. Just two days before his 60th birthday, Robert A. French was pronounced dead at 11:47 a.m. May 26 at St. Luke's Hospital in Fountain Hill. French died after having trouble resurfacing at the 50-acre recreational lake. Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim said the cause of French's death is unknown. "We are still waiting on autopsy and test results," Grim said Tuesday. "It'll be a little while yet." Dutch Springs manager Andrea Scott said French was diving with a buddy at the lake when something happened, although she doesn't know what happened. Dutch Springs' emergency response alert went out once other divers, seeing French in distress, cried for help. Scott said the facility employs people educated in helping hurt or ailing divers. "Unfortunately, things do happen," Scott said. "It is always horrible when someone has an accident." According to an obituary in the Binghamton Press and Sun-Bulletin, French is survived by his wife, Donna, four children and three grandchildren. French was a longtime volunteer with the Salvation Army and was employed at STCR Business Systems. Dutch Springs, a spring-fed former quarry on Hanoverville Road, attracts about 30,000 divers a year with features such as submerged vehicles, a sunken airplane and a diverse population of fish. The lake reaches a depth of about 100 feet. | | Dutch Springs requires all divers to sign a waiver before using the facility. The waiver discharges Dutch Springs and its employees from legal action resulting from "any injury, including death." French's wife, reached Tuesday, declined to comment about her husband's death. There have been several deaths at the diving park since it opened in 1980. Casey Parent, a 21-year-old from Connecticut, died of an apparent gas embolism in 2003. Eugene Pietroloungo, a 44-year-old New Jersey man, was found drowned at the bottom of the lake in 2001. Six others have died there: one in 1999, two in 1991 and three in 1986. SOURCE - The Express-TimesSCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba ForumCDNN Related NewsPENNSYLVANIA - Man dead after Dutch Springs scuba diving accidentPENNSYLVANIA - Young woman dies scuba diving at Dutch Springs scuba park |
