Local News

Man Plunges Over Starcke Dam; Spicewood Residents Come to His Aide

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Spicewood residents who happened to have perfect timing, heard faint cries for help from the floodwaters and came to a man’s rescue after he went over Starcke Dam on Tuesday, October 16, and floated downstream. Reports indicate the man was trying to start his boat upstream on the flooded Colorado River when he went over the dam.

Mike Zsembik, a Texas Hill Country resident, told local media that he heard faint cries for help and wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn;t just imagining it. Shortly thereafter, he and two others spotted the man trying to keep afloat in the river. As fate would have it, the man was pushed closer to the shore where Zsembik and his neighbors could throw a life preserver within his reach.

Man Goes Over Starcke Dam; Spicewood Residents Come to His Aide

Photo: Facebook/Amy Braxton

According to Zsembik, it was something that happened quickly. The man had been attempting to start his boat, but he was carried away by the floodwaters and went over the dam, going under the water half a dozen times. The man was reportedly close to giving up when help arrived. Water levels in this part of Texas grew to alarming levels at the beginning of the week, with Lake Marble Falls being reported as reaching 100 percent capacity on Monday, October 15. Inflows were being diverted to Starcke Dam, and there are presently no reports on water levels or speed of flow at the time of this man’s unfortunate accident. Thankfully, the Spicewood residents heard his calls for help and came to his aide just in time. With the sheer power and force of the amount of water running over the dam at present, all reports indicate it’s amazing that he survived.