After embarking on a kayaking trip down the Ohio River, Helene Brandy of Ambridge tragically lost her life. As a result, her parents, Kathleen and Bruce Brandy, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Pittsburgh against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, alleging “the agency didn’t adequately warn boaters of the dangers surrounding the Dashields Locks and Dam.” According to the couple’s suit, their daughter, who was only 25-years-old at the time of her death, “was one of two people who died in May 2017 when their kayaks were swept over the dam near Edgeworth.”
After embarking on a kayaking trip down the Ohio River, Helene Brandy of Ambridge tragically lost her life. As a result, her parents, Kathleen and Bruce Brandy, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Pittsburgh against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, alleging “the agency didn’t adequately warn boaters of the dangers surrounding the Dashields Locks and Dam.” According to the couple’s suit, their daughter, who was only 25-years-old at the time of her death, “was one of two people who died in May 2017 when their kayaks were swept over the dam near Edgeworth.”
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Helene and a friend were kayaking near the Dashfields Locks and Dam, which is a “fixed-crest dam that is difficult to see from low-riding, small crafts such as kayaks,” according to the 13-page lawsuit. Because of this, the presence of the dam “creates the appearance of an uninterrupted continuance of the river ahead.” Helene’a parents also claim that while buoys and warning signs are “present at all of the Army Corp’s locks and dams in the region…they were not of sufficient size and in sufficient locations.” As a result, the couple claims their daughter’s death was the “direct and proximate result of the willful, wanton and gross carelessness, recklessness and negligence of the Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees the locks and dams in the region.”
Upon filing the lawsuit the Brandy’s are seeking a jury trial and damages to reimburse them for their daughter’s “future loss of earnings and earning capacity, attorney’s fees, and costs and expenses incurred as a result of the lawsuit.”
In response to the lawsuit, Jeff Hawk, a spokesman for Pittsburgh’s Army Corps of Engineers said that while he can’t discuss the details of the suit in detail, the “Army Corps has a rigorous and thorough program designed to educate boaters throughout the region about the dangers inherent in using local rivers.” He added that “regardless of those efforts, it’s incumbent on river-goers to take the necessary precautions and to educate themselves before venturing onto the water.” He also said:
“If somebody arrives at our facilities and has no idea what the dam danger sign means, no idea what the buoy markings are, no idea that there are locks and dams on the rivers – which is not uncommon – then they’ve already placed themselves in jeopardy.”
Additionally, Hawk noted that a big part of river safety rests with boaters making sure they know the waterways before venturing out on them.
Despite Hawk’s comments, Helene’s parents began a petition last summer meant to hold the Army Corps responsible for it’s “insufficient, ineffective warning system. It should be noted though, that shortly following Helene’s tragic death, the Army Corps did, in fact, add “more buoys to the river near the Dashields facility.”
Sources:
Lawsuit filed over fatal accident at Dashields Dam
Parents file lawsuit after daughter drowns when she’s swept over dangerous dam while kayaking
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