101°F
weather icon Clear

Retired high school principal dies in triathlon

This week’s reopening of Lake Mead National Recreation Area brought excitement to the ranks of Pumpkinman Triathlon competitors gathering in Boulder City, but was dimmed by tragedy as one of the competitors, retired Las Vegas high school principal Patrick Hayden, 59, died after participating in the swimming portion of the competition.

According to longtime Boulder City resident Jeff Sargeant, “Something had to make that happen.” Sargeant was a volunteer in the water who witnessed most of the activity before park rangers arrived.

“I was on the other side of the course, on the north end. I was following a group of swimmers, on a stand-up paddle board. I noticed there were two kayakers that were waving paddles, and one with a stand-up board, in a group, which is a signal there is an emergency. I saw them off in the distance. I left the group I was with and headed to them. I asked a woman at the finish line, ‘What’s going on?’ She said ‘I don’t know, I think there’s an emergency,’ so I headed out immediately. Pat Hayden was resting on top of a kayak. I said, ‘What’s going on?’ They said, ‘this guy’s unconscious, we need Park Service boats over here.’ Pat Hayden was not breathing, real pale, lifeless. They were 150 yards away and we signaled them, but they were slow to respond. The way they were, they were outside the course. There were lots of swimmers in the water, swimming different courses. It took them three, four, five minutes to arrive. The Park people were really being cautious, they didn’t want to run over a swimmer.”

Sargeant, who has been a safety volunteer at these events for three years, said he had never seen or heard of a death or injury before. At next month’s Iron Girl event at Lake Las Vegas, where he will be a safety volunteer once again, he wants to make sure nothing like this can happen.

“It’s still bothering me,” he said.

When asked about the safety procedures at the triathlon, Lake Mead National Recreation Area spokeswoman Christy Vanover said, “Whenever there’s a fatality in the park, we conduct a thorough board of review. If we find changes to be made, we look at what, if anything, could be done differently to prevent a situation like this.”

Vanover said safety procedures were put in place jointly by the event coordinator, BBSC Endurance Sports, and the Park Service.

“The Park Service had two patrol boats,” she said, “but the coordinator had boats as well.”

Kayakers and paddle boarders were provided by BBSC as part of their agreement, she said.

“The internal investigation will look at the response by our safety people and by the coordinator. We will make sure the appropriate measures were taken that are required by their permit. That’s just standard procedure with any investigation,” she said.

The Lake Mead National Recreation Area released a press release Saturday stating a National Park Service patrol boat had been flagged down by a kayaker patrolling the event at 8:55 a.m. It said Hayden was “unresponsive” and was given CPR. He was taken by ambulance to Boulder City Hospital and pronounced dead at 9:30 a.m.

The Clark County coroner’s office scheduled an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

MOST READ
THE LATEST
Toll Brothers gets split decision

The development of the area near Boulder Creek Golf Course known as Tract 350 (the sale of which is slated to pay for the majority of the planned replacement for the aging municipal pool) may have hit a snag last week as the planning commission voted 5-1 to deny the developers’ request to build houses closer to the street than is allowed under current law.

Council gives nod to 185 new hangars

There is at least one part of Boulder City that is set to see growth in the coming years. A lot of growth.

Boulder City ready to celebrate America

Boulder City resident James Cracolici may have put it best when he called the annual July 4 Damboree, “The crown jewel of all events held in Boulder City.”

BC can ban backyard breeders

Although there is nothing on any city agenda yet, the resolution of the issue of whether pet breeding will be allowed in Boulder City took a huge step forward last week as Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford released an official opinion on the intent and limitations of state law that had been requested by city staff last year.

Completion dates for two road projects pushed back

Mayor Joe Hardy tacitly acknowledged that Boulder City gets, perhaps, more than its fair share of funding from the Regional Transportation Commission, given the city’s size.

Businesses recognized at Chamber awards night

The Boulder City Chamber of Commerce’s annual installation and awards night featured many business owners in town and even had an appearance, albeit an A.I.-generated one, by Audrey Hepburn.

Parallel parking approved

Like so many other things in the world of Boulder City government, the issue of reconfiguring parking in the historic downtown area along Nevada Way, which generated enough heat to cause council members to delay a decision up until the last possible moment, ended with more of a whimper than a bang.

Ways to reduce summer power bills

Now that the thermometer is on the rise outdoors, the cost to cool homes and businesses on the inside is doing the same.