TREUTLEN COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is investigating how 12-year-old, Colten Foskey from Dublin, died in a boating accident on Saturday.
Corporal Rodney Horne with the department says around 11:30 a.m., they received a call that Foskey and two other boys hit a sand bar and were ejected from the boat.
"All I would say, you know -- an unfortunate accident," Horne said.
Foskey, his dad, and the two other boys traveled on the Oconee River and entered north into Pete's Dead River on the Laurens County side.
That's where the boat accident happened.
"Right now, we don't have an exact cause of death. It's pending part of an investigation, and waiting for the medical examiner to get back with us on it but the initial report was blunt force trauma," Horne said.
Horne told 13WMAZ that many boats travel up and down the river and fatal accidents like this are unusual. He says they know how fast the boat was going at the time of the accident.
"We were told he was traveling but he wasn't traveling real fast," Horne said.
Foskey was a student at East Laurens Elementary School.
On their Facebook page, the school wrote in a post, "Colten’s passing leaves a void in the hearts of so many. We pray his family will feel God’s peace and comfort in the days ahead."
Horne says that while out on the river during low water levels, it's recommended that people should "drive at a moderate speed, wear their safety vest or what we call personal floatation devices."
The boat was taken in for further inspection as part of the investigation.