Late summer and early autumn of 2013 were unkind, at least to two divers who died after scuba diving accidents at Dutch Springs in Lower Nazareth Township, Pennsylvania. These deaths are not the first that have occurred at the facility; others have occurred within the past decade, as well; two deaths happened in 2007, one occurred in 2009, and one happened in 2011.
September 2009 - Dutch Springs Diving Accidents
Paula Brodie, a 47-year old resident of White Haven, Pennsylvania, was pronounced deceased a little after 2 a.m. on September 10th of 2009 following a diving accident and subsequent brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen. Scott Grimm, who was Lehigh County Coroner at the time, ruled the death to be an accident. Brodie’s dive partner told reporters that she had become distressed at a depth of 10 to 15 feet. Her partner attempted to share air, but Brodie, who had ten months of diving experience, was unable to breathe successfully, neither underwater nor at the surface.
May 2011- Dutch Springs Diving Accidents
Kyle Kulp, a sixteen-year-old boy from Royersford, PA, was diving with a group that included his own father when he suffered a tragic diving accident in May of 2011. Though rescuers attempted to revive the teen, he was later pronounced deceased at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg in Bethlehem, PA. Afterward, management at Dutch Springs expressed their condolences in a statement to the press.
August 2013 - Dutch Springs Diving Accidents
On august 18 of 2013, 38-year-old Saddle Brook, New Jersey, resident Eugene Fleysher was involved in a fatal diving accident at Dutch Springs. Witnesses said he became unresponsive while in the water and brought him to the surface. Though rescuers attempted to resuscitate the victim, he was pronounced deceased at Saint Luke’s University Hospital in Fountain Hill approximately an hour after the accident.
September 2013 - Dutch Springs Diving Accidents
Connecticut resident Izydor Poplawski, age 46, was discovered missing a little after 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 7th of 2013, following a night dive. Responders arrived less than fifteen minutes later, and his body was recovered at 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, September 8th. Unfortunately, Poplawski was pronounced deceased at the scene, and Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek ruled the death an accidental drowning.
When considering whether to dive at Dutch Springs, it’s very important to keep other factors in mind. While some other spots where dive accidents are fairly common host a relatively small number of divers, Dutch Springs is very popular, drawing in more than 30,000 divers annually; there are sometimes hundreds of divers camping and diving at the underwater park. Most who visit have safe, enjoyable dives, and the park has strict guidelines for all visitors to follow. Unlike many scuba diving accidents that happen at offshore sites and remote locations, all of these involved immediate response from emergency crews – and there have been several accidents at Dutch Springs in which divers were able to recover after receiving medical attention.
Though horribly tragic, these scuba diving deaths serve as grim reminders that although our sport is an enjoyable one, it is also inherently dangerous – and even with the best equipment, the best training, and the most careful attention to detail, deadly accidents can happen.