Teen drowns in
Hartwell Lake
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| Brandon
Young, center, consoles his friend Donna
White, 20, while walking with Russel McGuire,
16, and Anderson Country sheriff's
investigator Chris Vaughn after the Anderson
teens' friend, 16-year-old T.L. Hanna High
School sophomore Anthony Gilliard, drowned
Monday at River Forks Recreation Area on
Hartwell Lake. [Ken
Ruinard Anderson Independent-Mail] |
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By
Charmaine Smith
Anderson Independent-Mail
4/30/2002
A 16-year-old T.L.
Hanna High School student drowned Monday in Hartwell Lake as
he and two of his friends tried to swim across about 60 yards
of water to another part of the shore.
Anthony Ray Gilliard was pronounced dead at 5:32 p.m. Monday,
less than an hour after Medshore Ambulance Service’s dive
team recovered his body from the bottom of the lake about 30
yards from shore, Anderson County Coroner Greg Shore said.
Mr. Gilliard was at the lake with three of his friends —
17-year-old Brandon Young, 20-year-old Donna White and
16-year-old Russell McGuire. Mr. Shore said Ms. White and Mr.
Young were swimming with Mr. Gilliard when he became exhausted
and panicked.
At the scene, Mr. Young told officers that Mr. Gilliard
grabbed at him and nearly pulled him under. Ms. White said it
was then that Mr. Young called for her and said he needed
help.
“They’re always playing games with me,” Ms. White said.
“I saw Anthony go down and come back up and look straight at
me, so I thought they were joking.”
Within seconds, Mr. Young swam to the shore and found someone
with a cell phone so he could call 911, she said.
The three boys were students at Hanna and were skipping school
to spend time at the lake Monday, Mr. Shore said. Ms. White
said they arrived at the River Forks Recreation Area, near
S.C. 187, around 3 p.m. and had only been in the water about
10 minutes before Mr. Gilliard went under.
Within 45 minutes of searching the lake, diver Don McCown
pulled Mr. Gilliard from the 72-degree water. A dozen
paramedics hovered around the teen, trying to resuscitate him,
and an Anderson County sheriff’s helicopter landed on the
beach to fly Mr. Gilliard to the hospital.
At 5 p.m., he was hoisted onto the helicopter by the Anderson
Technical Rescue Team and flown to the Anderson Area Medical
Center. Mr. Shore said doctors at the hospital tried to revive
Mr. Gilliard for 30 minutes before he was actually pronounced
dead.
“They used every resource they could,” Mr. Shore said.
The three boys and Ms. White all lived at Meadow Run
Apartments on S.C. 28 with their families, Mr. Shore said.
Family members could not be reached late Monday.
Hanna Principal Mike Sams said Mr. Gilliard was a “quiet
kid” who kept to himself.
“He wasn’t the kind of kid that you saw in the office a
lot,” said the principal of 17 years. “He just didn’t
get in trouble. Over the years, I’ve lost some kids here,
but it’s tough every time.”
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