A 42-year-old man is dead after drowning at BSR Cable Park’s wave pool. Photo: Screenshot
According to reports, a 42-year-old man has died in a Texas hospital after he was pulled from the wave pool at BSR Cable Park in Waco on Thursday, July 4. The park hosted a Fourth of July party from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. at the surf beach.
Officials were called to the wave pool at just before 10 p.m. The victim, who was identified by the Waco Tribune as Christopher Hayes, was unresponsive but still breathing and was taken to a nearby hospital and placed on life support. While information about the exact cause of death is scarce, McLennan County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy David Kilcrease said it was an apparent drowning. As of Friday afternoon, Hayes was listed in critical condition, but the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office told FOX44 that the victim’s family took him off life support at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center – Hillcrest on Saturday.
Last year, BSR was the focus of a CDC investigation that found Naegleria fowleri, which is more commonly known as a brain-eating amoeba, when a visiting New Jersey surfer died after surfing in the pool. BSR has since installed a new filtration system.
As of this reporting, neither the McLennan County Sheriff’s Office nor BSR had responded to requests for comment. No other information has been released about the incident.
