Jackie L. Hennessee died attempting to save Waymon Wilcox, Jhan C. Timms, and Robert E. Walden II from drowning, Watts Bar Dam, Tennessee, July 12, 1989. Wilcox, Timms, and Walden were fishing from a fiberglass boat in the Tennessee River below the Watts Bar Dam when the boat was drawn toward the rolling boil at the face of the dam. They signaled for help. Fishing from his boat farther downstream was Jackie L. Hennessee, 43, quality assurance inspector, who was accompanied by his brother and nephew. Hennessee immediately proceeded to the boat in distress. One of its occupants threw a rope to Hennessee’s boat, and Hennessee’s brother caught it. Hennessee turned his boat around to pull the boat in distress away from the dam, but his boat’s motor stalled. Both boats were drawn into the boil, and they capsized, their occupants submerging. Timms and Walden were rescued by other fishermen, and they required hospital treatment for injuries. Likewise, Hennessee’s brother and nephew were rescued by fishermen. Wilcox and Hennessee both drowned.
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