Thomas Arby Butler III Killed in Newton County, TX, Accident
Newton County, TX -- July 16, 2017, Thomas Arby Butler III was killed due to an accident that occurred at a rural water recreation park.
According to preliminary information released by the Newton County Sheriff's Department, the fatal accident happened at around 3:15 p.m. about six miles southeast of Trout Creek.
40-year-old Butler was at the Backwoods Beach water park, located in a rural area off of FM 1416 and FM 4098. Officials say that when he went off a water slide into the water, he somehow became unconscious and did not regain consciousness.
EMS arrived on the scene some time later and attempted resuscitation efforts. They proved unsuccessful, and Butler was pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported.
At this time, the exact details surrounding the accident are unclear.
Map of the Area
Commentary
This is truly a terrible accident to read about. Without more details, there's no way to say for sure what happened, though it's important that an experienced professional looks into this. People have a tendency to refer to these kinds of events as, "freak accidents." I find this troublesome because this implies that it couldn't have been avoided, and people tend to right it off as such. Just because an accident is unusual doesn't mean nothing can be done. Those affected by this deserve to know any and all factors which contributed to this incident and what could have been done to prevent it. At the very least, they deserve to know the full story surrounding such a tragic incident.
--Grossman Law Offices
[jump]