Steven Aaron White and Blake Brainard.Photo:go fund me
go fund me
An 8-year-old boy and his stepfather died over the weekend when theirjet ski collidedwith a barge on a Tennessee lake.
Barge company employees found White at the scene, but he did not survive, the agency said. At 1 a.m. on Sunday, their initial search for the boy ended without finding his body.
“On Sunday at 8 a.m., officials from TWRA, United States Coast Guard, and others resumed the search focusing their attention on the group of 13 barges involved in the accident,” officials added. “TWRA investigators utilized a remote operated vehicle (ROV) to search under the barges and several cadaver dogs were used on the barges to attempt to identify a likely search location.”
Blake’s body was finally recovered around 6:40 p.m. Sunday, officials said. Both victims were wearing life jackets.
“Nighttime navigation in general is just a lot more difficult, depth perception is off,” Hetland said. “Certain areas of rivers, certain areas of lakes — very dark.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
According toBlake’s obituary, the 8-year-old was a student at Charlotte Middle School with a “sweet and kind soul.” He was described as an avid athlete who played a number of sports.
“He was the funniest, smartest, kindest little boy you could have ever met,” they added, sharing that he was also “the all star catcher and the team captain for JT Warriors and Tennessee Elite Baseball teams.”
Steven Aaron White and Blake Brainard.spannfuneralhome
spannfuneralhome
“He loved all of us so much and we do not know what we will do without him and Blake,” they added. “Aaron and Blake truly were the light of so many lives and they will be missed every day of our lives.”
According to the TWRA, Saturday’s fatal accident brings the total number of boating-related fatalities in Tennessee this year to 22.
source: people.com
