Fatal Boating Accident Reported At Lake LBJ

AUSTIN, TX — Officials are investigating a fatal boating accident that occurred on Lake LBJ late Wednesday.

In a tweet posted on Thursday, Texas Game Wardens said the incident occurred last evening. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those impacted," officials wrote in confirming the death. Texas Game Wardens have since identified the victim as Robet Platt Jr., 20, of Sugar Land, Texas, as reported by news station KHOU on Friday.

More commonly referred to as Lake LBJ and originally named Lake Granite Shoals, Lake Lyndon B. Johnson is a reservoir on the Colorado River in the Colorado Rivers amid the Texas Hill Country, some 45 miles northwest of Austin.

With the advent of summer, many are taking to area waterways for recreation. Often, however, revelers fail to take safety precautions to ensure a safe outing. Texas Parks & Wildlife offers a series of tips to ensure safety while not compromising the enjoyable nature of such activity:

Boating Safety Tips

• Always wear a life jacket.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Be especially careful on personal watercrafts.
• Children younger than age 13 must wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved PFD while underway.
• Enroll in a boater education class.
• Don’t overload your boat.
• Operate at a safe speed.
• Always have a passenger serve as a lookout in addition to the operator.
• Watch out for low water areas or submerged objects.

The agency highly urges those taking to waterways to always wear a personal flotation device or life jacket. Most boating fatality victims were recovered not wearing such potentially life-saving equipment, wardens said.

Texas law requires anyone born on or after Sept. 1, 1993, to take a Boater Education Certification Course before taking to the waterways. To learn more, click here. For more boating safety guidance from Texas Parks & Wildlife, click here.