Clay Creighton dies in fatal Lake Winnebago UTV crash
Fatal Lake Winnebago UTV crash death of Clay Creighton – Obituary
Authorities have identified the man who lost his life after a UTV plunged into open water on Lake Winnebago on Saturday.
Clay Creighton, 67, from the town of Taycheedah, was a passenger in a UTV driven by a 56-year-old Fond du Lac man when the vehicle entered an area of open water. Both men managed to exit the sinking UTV but were stranded in the freezing water for about 20 minutes before bystanders noticed and helped pull them onto the ice.
A Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s deputy and a police officer attempted to reach the victims using a bystander’s UTV but were unable to cross an active ice crack and open water. They provided instructions and an AED to the rescuers assisting Creighton and the driver.
Emergency personnel from the Fond du Lac County SARC with Fire Rescue Department arrived and transported both men to shore. They were taken to St. Agnes Hospital, where life-saving efforts were made for Creighton, but he was later pronounced dead.
The driver was treated for hypothermia-related symptoms and survived.
Authorities noted that both men were wearing seatbelts but did not have helmets or flotation devices. Unfamiliarity with the location of a marked ice crack, identified by downed Christmas trees, is believed to have contributed to the accident.
