A Wisconsin storm turned a holiday outing into tragedy when a recreational boat capsized on Geneva Lake, killing three children who were wearing life vests. The weekend’s extreme weather also knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of customers across mult
Lake Geneva, Wis. — The holiday was supposed to be simple: a recreational ride on Geneva Lake during a Wisconsin storm that had already started to pick up.
Instead, three children died after a boat capsized in Walworth County during the July Fourth weekend, authorities said. The emergency unfolded fast enough that it turned a day of vacation traffic into a scene of recovered bodies after an intensive search.
The Geneva Lake Law Enforcement Agency and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources investigated the crash. In a statement, the city’s police department said the capsizing came as a “sudden and severe storm” rapidly produced hazards for boats.
Police said a privately owned recreational motorboat carrying 10 occupants, including four children, tried to race to safety before it was overwhelmed by severe wind and waves. As the vessel took on water, it eventually capsized and sank.
Six adults and a child were rescued from the water. Three children recovered from the lake after an intensive search were unresponsive to exhaustive lifesaving measures administered as soon as they were found. police said. Officials later confirmed that all four children on board were wearing life jackets.
After the storm, Lake Geneva Mayor Todd Krause declared an emergency. He said one person suffered minor injuries after being struck by a falling tree while downed power lines and trees blocked some streets.
Hours and miles away. the same weekend weather that brought dangerous water to Geneva Lake moved through the broader Midwest and Northeast—downing trees. rupturing power lines and making travel treacherous. After a similarly vicious storm struck the New York area late Friday. hundreds of thousands of utility customers were left without power. trains to New Jersey were canceled. and thousands of trees were damaged or uprooted.
Across the storms, nearly 1 million residents were left powerless. By noon Saturday, about 750,000 utility customers were without electricity in Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York and New Jersey.
The heat and the storms collided across the holiday. By noon on July Fourth, temperatures across parts of the Northeast were already soaring back toward triple digits, with conditions expected to be relieved by storms predicted to follow.
In New Jersey, the disruption reached beyond power and roads into public celebrations. Mayor Frank Velez in Belleville rescheduled holiday fireworks for next year after storms rolled through the Northeast on Friday. telling residents. “While we’re disappointed we couldn’t celebrate together tonight. your safety will always come first.”.
For many people, the day was supposed to be about fireworks and getaways. Instead, in Wisconsin, it ended with a boat overturned in violent wind and waves—an emergency driven by how quickly the weather changed, even when life vests were worn.
Lake Geneva Wisconsin storm July Fourth boat capsized Walworth County power outages heat wave holiday fireworks utility customers
Wow, July 4th and they still drown??
I mean they had life vests on and still capsized… so what, the wind was just insane. People go out on lakes like it’s always calm until it isn’t.
So the boat “raced to safety” but got overwhelmed by wind and waves… sounds like the storm was already there. Like why were they on the water at all if the weather was picking up??
This is why I don’t trust those random lake trips, Geneva Lake always has something going on. Also the article says power was knocked out for hundreds of thousands across the whole Midwest—so this was like a bigger weather system or something, not just one little storm. Sucks that it was kids, but I keep thinking if the adults hadn’t been “racing” it would’ve been fine. Idk.