Kendra Motter, a 40-year-old college instructor from Canton, Ohio, was scuba diving on January 13 with her husband Michael, a certified diver. (Interestingly, some reports indicate this was her first dive ever, while others state that she "had been scuba diving a few times before.") Two of about a dozen divers on the boat that day, the Motters gave the OK sign...and then waved for help. The dive master dove in and swam to Kendra to administer rescue breaths and bring her back to the boat. An emergency room doctor on the boat took over the attempt to resuscitate the unconscious Motter, who died five days later.
The cause of death has not yet been announced, though from this report, it doesn't *sound* like a diving accident. Rather, it sounds like an accident that occurred while diving. It's a subtle distinction to be sure. Think of it this way: if Motter had died while cashing check inside a bank, do you think they would have labeled this a banking accident?
1. Interestingly, most "dive accidents" are just that -- accidents that happen while diving. Much like most "bike accidents" are accidents that happen when people are riding their bikes.
There's no distinguishing -- regardless, unless she was diving with an instructor (or was actually certified), her stats shouldn't reflect on diving's safety record -- unqualified divers are accidents waiting to happen.
-kb
Posted at 5:23AM on Jan 23rd 2007 by kb