Tennessee Dad and 9-Year-Old Son Die After Jet Ski Slams Into Barge

Cheatham Lake
Tennessee's Cheatham Lake.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

After a jet ski crashed into a barge on Tennessee's Cheatham Lake, rescuers searched for hours for a 9-year-old boy thrown into the water. His father was pronounced dead at the scene.

A father and son have died after their jet ski collided with a barge Saturday night on a Tennessee lake, authorities said.

The father, 36-year-old Steven White, was killed, and his body pulled out of the water after impact, officials said. His son's body wasn't found until Sunday evening, nearly 24 hours after the crash, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Searchers spent hours combing Cheatham Lake near Nashville. 

The father and son were both wearing life vests, the agency said.

The boy’s mother had waited and wept while divers and boats searched for her son, WSAV-TV reported.

“She’s down there waiting for her little boy,” Mary Felts, a Cheatham County resident, said during the search. “She won’t leave until they find him.”

Rescue crews worked until 1 a.m. Sunday, and then resumed their search at daylight. They located the 9-year-old’s body at 6:40 p.m., the agency reported.

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