Man Dies On Lake Sonoma While Swimming After Inner Tube

SONOMA COUNTY, CA -- A Santa Rosa man died Sunday afternoon on Lake Sonoma when he swam after an inner tube that had fallen off the boat he was riding on, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office reported Monday. According to sheriff's Sgt. Spencer Crum, the victim, David Hartsough, 50, had just set out on the northern Sonoma County lake in a jet boat with a Fulton couple and their 11-year-old child when, at about 12:45 p.m. near the Warm Springs park of the lake, the boat's engine malfunctioned.

An inner tube flew off the front deck and floated away, and Hartsough jumped off the boat and swam after it. Just as he neared the inner tube, he started yelling for help, Crum said.

The Fulton woman swam after Hartsough and reached him just as he went underwater and she noticed he wasn't breathing. She flagged down a nearby boater who helped her get Hartsough into his boat, Crum said.

The rescuer took Hartsough and the woman to a private marina and performed CPR until paramedics arrived and pronounced him dead, according to Crum.

The cause of death has not been determined and an autopsy is pending, but Hartsough might have suffered a medical emergency, Crum said.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Image via Sonoma County Sheriff's Office