TORONTO, Canada (9 August 2004) -- The family of Aviva Barth says a boater travelling erratically and at high speed may be to blame for her death. The Toronto-based consultant, who grew up in Guelph, was killed on Saturday by a passing boat during a diving lesson. Barth, 30, was scuba diving at Big Bay Point on Lake Simcoe with a group that included boyfriend Noah Wagner, 29, a diving instructor. When Barth was hit by the boat, Wagner and another instructor tried in vain to revive her. She was pronounced dead of serious head injuries at Barrie's Royal Victoria Hospital. "It was going perfectly, we were almost finished for the day and we were going to come home," Wagner said. "She was just coming up with her diving partner when the boat came speeding up and hit her in the head. "When I came up with my pair, the other instructor saw a pool of blood behind her. We started CPR right away, but at no point in the rescue did she have a pulse." None of the divers got a good look at the boat that hit Barth, but another diving instructor caught a glimpse of the vessel as it went by. "The other instructor said the boat was going extremely fast; it just streaked by," Wagner said. "For her to be hurt that bad, that boat had to be going pretty fast." Wagner said that he and Barth's family were told by the coroner yesterday that Barth was killed instantly, leading them to believe the boat was speeding when it hit her. Wagner said he has been told that witnesses saw three young men in a white boat, but police will not confirm the reports. "I haven't heard that, and the exact boat hasn't been determined," said Inspector Tom McDonald of the South Simcoe police. "We're still trying to locate the boater that was involved. We're interviewing as many people as possible in the area, and if we do get a description of the boat, we will certainly broadcast it so that they can come forward." Police say the boaters may not be aware that they hit anything and that has been widely reported in the media. But local divers are skeptical. Postings about the incident on diving message boards on the Internet suggest many boaters routinely ignore dive markers, red flags with a diagonal white stripe that are hoisted on buoys to indicate divers are in the water below. | | The divers were training in a relatively shallow area about 30 metres off the end of a government dock near Innisfil and were about to complete their second dive of the day when the boat passed a dive marker at about 5:45 p.m. Wagner, who dives frequently at Big Bay Point, said the area near the dock is popular with swimmers and divers because the water is warm and not too deep. He said that boaters are often not familiar with or are dismissive of dive markers. "When we put that flag up, it means that boaters shouldn't come within 150 feet of that flag — (the boat) came within 50 feet of that flag," he said. "The water was only 10 feet deep — that's how close they came to the shore. Essentially it wasn't a diving accident — it was a boating accident." Barth was a senior consultant with business consulting firm Bearing Point at the time of her death. She studied math at York University before getting an MBA from McMaster University. The eldest of three siblings, Barth was committed to social issues and volunteerism, said sister Jennifer, 28. Barth was devoted to tutoring youngsters and worked with a Jewish youth outreach organization that visited small Ontario communities. Richard Baker, community services officer with the Toronto police marine unit of the Toronto police, said that current regulations for boaters are "a work in progress." While all boaters operating any motor-powered vessels less than four metres (including personal watercraft) will have to have a competency card by September, 2009, currently boaters can obtain the permit without taking any courses. Baker said some boaters get the card by filling out a simple true-or-false questionnaire at boat shows or over the Internet. Barth's funeral is being held today at Beth Isaiah synagogue in Guelph. |
