Man dies in accident

OLDTOWN — Tyler Vance Watson, 29-year-old male and Priest River resident, died Tuesday night after jumping into Pend Oreille River from Oldtown Bridge.

Watson was recovered by the Bonner County Sheriff’s dive team with assistance from Pend Oreille County rescue officials.

Bonner County Sheriff’s Capt. Tim Hemphill said Watson was with friends and family on the beach when the incident occured.

“There were other people at the beach that saw it happen and they called right away as soon as he didn’t resurface,” Hemphill said.

According to Watson’s family, this was not the first time he jumped off the bridge Tuesday.

“It was recreational,” Hemphill said. “He was jumping off of the bridge into the river. Apparently, he had jumped off at least one time prior today, but I don’t know how many times he jumped off before this occurrence.”

Hemphill said it is unclear how Watson’s final jump resulted in his inability to resurface.

“I’d be speculating, really, as to whether he was injured when he hit the water or other contributing circumstances,” he said. “But, the distance off of the bridge is approximately 40 to 50 feet. We always encourage people not to jump off the bridge due to currents and unknown debris and things that could be underneath the water. It’s very easy to be injured.”

Watson was the only individual who jumped off the bridge Tuesday, according to law enforcement officials. Watson’s family told Hemphill they could tell he “landed funny” and they called emergency services when he never came up from the water.

He was dead when officials recovered his body from the Pend Oreille River around 7:45 to 8 p.m.

The coroner will follow up to determine a cause of death.

“The incident was witnessed by numerous people, so at this point there is no concern of outside involvement with his jumping off the bridge,” Hemphill said. “Right now it looks to be an accidental death.”

Both of Watson’s parents were at the scene Tuesday night, along with a large group of friends and relatives.

“From our perspective, it was obviously a tragic event and yet another reason we highly encourage people to use caution and be careful on the water,” Hemphill said. “We absolutely discourage people from jumping off of bridges or high locations, because like I said, you never really know what’s under water.”

Units were on Oldtown Bridge and down by the boat ramp at the base of the bridge. Hemphill said the traffic was generated by numerous first responders and citizens who witnessed the incident.

Hemphill said responding to the scene were Bonner County patrol and marine division, a boat from Pend Oreille County’s sheriff office and fire department and members of Bonner County Sheriff’s dive team. Other responders were West Pend Oreille Fire Department and Bonner County EMS.