91 by or occurred near dams on the river. The rolling currents that the dams create at their base are not necessarily visible to recreational users. A fact sheet about the usage of the Fox River written by a nonprofit group whose goal is to protect the watershed and the resources that lie on the river gives more information on the dangers of hydraulic dams, “dams create even greater risks by blocking the river’s flow and forming deep pools with hazardous currents.”1 The same informational sheet refers to the treacherous currents formed at the foot of the dams as “drowning machines.” One would think that with a nickname like that, people would be inclined to stay far away in order to protect themselves. However, that does not seem to be the case, as drownings are very rarely intentional. In the case of Terrance Tyscko, a 12-year-old boy who drowned in the river in 1966, he was fishing in a boat with his father when he jumped out to help him untangle the lines and was pulled into the dam’s current.2 Another accident occurred in 2014 when a 26-year-old man was kayaking with a group of friends when he and another man lost control of their kayak and were pulled over the dam and into the boil.3 The area is known for being dangerous; however, people are still allowed to use it recreationally. Even officials and rescue personnel are aware of the dangers that happen around the dams. But since all of the drownings around dams were accidents involving people who didn’t intend to be put in that dangerous spot, should more regulations exist around those areas? Looking back at the data gathered on the drownings in the Fox River, there is not one specific activity that can be pinpointed as what the victims were doing before their death. However, all were using the river recreationally. Near just one dam on the Fox River, there have been eighteen 1 “Friends of the Fox River Foxfacts Fox River Dams,” Friends of the Fox River, accessed November 10, 2022, https://friendsofthefoxriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/fact-sheet-dams.pdf. 2 “15 In Chicago Area Drown Over Holiday.” Chicago Tribune, July 5, 1966. https://chicagotribune.newspapers.com/image/376482517/?terms=fox%20river%20drownings&match=1. 3 “Kayaker Drowns on Fox in Geneva.” Chicago Tribune, April 24, 2014. https://www.proquest.com/docview/1518605564?pq-origsite=primo.
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