1. It's scary that this woman has certified divers. What is the first thing you do when trying to get an unconcious diver off the bottom? Remove the weight belt. I just don't see how that wasn't her first reaction when she hit the water and realized she sank like a rock. It's a tragedy, either way.

Posted at 4:15PM on Jul 18th 2006 by Billy Williamson

2. Wait for the autopsy results... never know, could very well be other medical conditions involved...

Posted at 4:40PM on Jul 18th 2006 by Dennis Festerling

3. I agree...at first glance it would seem this is the most ridiculous mistake to make and if you are drowning with the belt on you should be able to take it off etc.

The woman may have dove or jumped and sank incredibly fast causing an injury to arms, legs or head. With that said let's wait for the autopsy it could be something more complicated.

Posted at 6:24PM on Jul 18th 2006 by Mike

4. Hey Mike, thats actually quite a good insight into what probably happened - she dove into the swimming pool forgetting the belt was on, and before the bubbles had cleared from in front of her vision she'd struck the ground and knocked herself out due to sinking so fast.

Its really such a tragic accident. It just shows that diving is a serious business. One minor lapse of concentration is all it can take sometimes. And everybody suffers from that from time to time - how many times have you locked your keys in the car by mistake, or pushed reply to all instead of just reply on an email.

The only question I'd ask is why was the instructor wearing the weight belt and not scuba gear? I'm pretty sure in my training it was weightbelt on last taken off first. And if it was just a weight belt for snorkeling that shouldn't have been very heavy - one or two weight max. I mean the point of snorkeling is being slightly positively bouyant so you stay on the surface while snorkeling.

Posted at 7:15PM on Jul 18th 2006 by mccdyl001

5. Wow, I used to teach in Tyler. Don't recognize the name though. My first reaction was the same as Billy comment #1, but on further thought, im reserving any opinion until after the autopsy result. Could have been pretty much anything although the "dropped so fast because of the weight belt and smacked her head on the bottom" is a good theory, as that never occured to me until I just read it, either.

Posted at 11:51PM on Jul 18th 2006 by Mark

6. I teach students both methods of putting on weight belts. Before gearing up and after gearing up. Sometimes it is just easier to do it first. All of my students are repeatedly taught to drop weight belts when needed and it is practiced in my class also.

What I want to know is what happened to the snorkler on the bottom? Did that person have a great breath hold or where they another accident during this incident? And why didn't they try to help?

Posted at 7:35AM on Jul 19th 2006 by Craig

7. I hadn't considered that the woman might have sunk too quickly and knocked herself out. That's interesting. We'll see what the autopsy indicates.

@Craig -- It wasn't a snorkleler on the bottom of the pool, it was just a snorkel.

Posted at 8:21AM on Jul 19th 2006 by Willy

8. "An autopsy has been ordered and they should get the results back in the next 2 to 3 weeks to find out what caused the drowning. Martin also said there is no sign of foul play."
http://www.kltv.com/global/story.asp?s=5160870

Posted at 10:49AM on Jul 19th 2006 by Willy

9. Please reserve your comments regarding this tragic accident. Barbara was training two novices to dive. Barbara was my dive instructor some years ago. Then as on Sunday she was an extremely competent professional and experienced instructor. She was also in excellent physical condition. It is apparent from the details she experienced some type of previously undetected physical conditon which struck her during the time she had gone in for the errant snorkel in the pool. Whether it was a brain anneurism, stroke or massive cardiac infarction she was unable to drop her weight belt or return to the surface.
From my understanding at this point she did not "drop unexpectedly fast" or strike her head on the pool bottom or side due to the weight belt as the police reported there was no evidence of any injury to her.
Again, this woman was a very experienced diver and this accident was just that --a tragic accident. It could have happened to anyone dive instructor, swimmer, or anyone with their head under the surface of the water.

Posted at 11:50PM on Jul 19th 2006 by A Tyler Diver

10. I completely agree with A Tyler Diver from 7/19. This woman & her husband were my instructors, as well as my sons, a few years ago. This was the kindest, most compassionate, professional and competent instructor around and her death is a tragedy. You all should be ashamed for your hurtful, hateful comments!! There is more to this than the public will probably come to know, nor should we. Her family doesn't need this. We need to show them the kindness & love that was the hallmark of her life.

I know that if it wasn't for she & her husband, I wouldn't have finished my training. They worked with me personally to overcome my fears. They made me a better diver.

I pray for her family, friends and the couple that were with her at the time of the accident. And for all of us who knew & loved her and will miss her bright smile and sweetness.

Posted at 9:48PM on Jul 24th 2006 by Another Tyler Diver

11. Have the autopsy results come back yet?

Posted at 8:28PM on Aug 8th 2006 by Debra Welch