On Friday, March 9, 2012, at approximately 4:00 pm, Mono County Sheriff’s Office Dispatch received a report of a vehicle that had been driven into the water, from the shoreline, at Topaz Lake.
It was reported that several friends were fishing on the shoreline of Topaz Lake when apparently one of the friends got into his vehicle attempting to start the engine. Friends heard a splash and saw the vehicle in the water and floating away from the shore before it completely sank. The driver, identified as Francis McConnell, age 74, of Topaz, was found by divers unrestrained, lifeless and deceased. Mr. McConnell was brought to the surface and transported via boat to the shore.
California Highway Patrol is the lead agency into the investigation of what caused the accident. Final cause of death of Mr. McConnell will be determined by the Mono County Sheriff’s Office upon completion of autopsy and toxicology results.
Prepared and written by: Jennifer Hansen, Public Information Officer
meeka…..seems the cause of death could be obvious….
the cause of death was inconclusive wayne……
inconclusive – wtf does that mean?
11 months later…..
inconclusive…
Meeka…Had to look up the story in order to respond here…What I would ask you is do you live up here in the Owens Valley or Mono County ?…If not,this seems to be a pattern,for the most part, how officials handle a situation such as this…especially in Inyo County…very little… Read more »
8 months later and still no update on cause of death…. thanks mono county
Right on Wayne
First Responder’s Wife, Maybe I’m wrong saying this, but it seems your post brings more questions than answers…so here are some questions..If indeed first responders were there within minutes of the call,why weren’t they prepared to attempt a rescue?..I have heard of instances of people having survived underwater for 20… Read more »
Medics, Cops and Firefighters do not carry underwater gear nor are they trained for it. This was one of those low frequency, high intensity events that is difficult and expensive to train and equip for.
So Wayne, you’re not trained in search and rescue, first responder, any sort of EMS? I totally got what First Responder’s wife said. I think you should have consulted your fire captain friend first. It would be interesting to see what he tells you, then you will know more about… Read more »
Big Al….You want an arguement,you;ll have to look for someone else besides me on this incident….My questions had more to do with why first responders are not equipted to handle such an incident…not if they did their job or not…and why ,in an area such as this,the nearest dive team… Read more »
Fare enough Wayne, but I wasn’t presenting an argument, I was only saying, it is easy for one to say a lot about these matters or make assumptions when they do not know the facts. I liked your post after talking to your friend, I knew that would have given… Read more »
I talked to the fireman/EMT about this incident,and he said because of how the situation had panned out,would have been VERY difficult to make,or even attempt a rescue….and especially for those that witnessed the vehicle going into the water…too much to deal with without more victims…the cold water,the distance to… Read more »
We have a scanner at our home. I do NOT have the exact times of the calls, but I heard the entire sequence of calls from the Mono One dispatch center regarding this gentleman’s unfortunate demise. The first responders were on scene within five minutes of the first call. I… Read more »
The recovery call is why the “rumor” made it out to be a 3 hour call response time, that is what reporting might have picked up on instead of the actual “first resopnder’s” on scene time.
the first CHP officer WAS THERE quickly (I’m still thinking 45 min. maybe 30) – however he had no way to rescue anyone. He was a nice man, very understanding……. however there wasn’t any way he could have done anything…… It was my mistake of the term “first responder” and… Read more »
And just what does the Ag station have to do with anything? The inspectors were going to jump in the lake to save the man? I’ve spent time there, they’re just people who’ve been taught about Ag pests and how to check for them….they’re not trained rescue personnel.
Here is another rumour, well not so much a rumour cause I have heard it myself. Our Board is trying to cut back paramedic services in north county. Their budget is toooooooooo big. The Sheriff’s department budget is toooooooooo big. What do you figure the response time will be after… Read more »
The Paramedic service would remain the same. The change they are talking about is staffing the rigs with one Paramedic and one EMT instead of two Paramedics. This will save money without lowering service. The sheriff’s department has a very large geographical area to cover and they don’t work after… Read more »
“The driver… was found lifeless and deceased.”
Poor guy. Lifeless is bad enough, but deceased to boot?
Where’s Tim Fesko he has some question to answer?
you weren’t there dog – you have no clue
Why in the HELL didn’t anyone on shore do something besides dialing 911 ?
Nobody wanted to get wet ? The CHP Ag. station is 5 less than 5 minutes away…
Big Rick…Got to agree with you …but the bigger picture is if the rumors are true about first responders taking 3 HOURS to get to the scene….inexcusable……Sounds as if multiple agencies were there to “take control” after the fact….where were they when the vehicle was sinking?…..Sounds as if the AG… Read more »
Again .. ag station lol, not CHP sounds like the rumor mill is cranking on this one too with rumors of 3 hour response time, I think we need to get to the bottom of the the rumors before putting the foot in the mouth.
Maybe the were the same age as the victim. Maybe they were scared. Big RIck, I suppose you would have swam out and pulled the car back in!?!?
You make a great monday night quarterback!!!
I thought about the possiblity of someone jumping in. 30ft out, 30ft down would take someone in really good shape that new how to swim. I’m not in good shape, and not a good swimmer, leaving me wondering what I would do. You’d have to wait until the car filled… Read more »
I would have at least TRIED.
Monday (MORNING) quarterback…
Rick, Thanks for the Monday Morning info, I am not much of a football fan. The basic first responder courses (police, fire, emt, etc.) teach you not to become part of the problem, you are no good to anyone because now there are two that need saving. If you did… Read more »
Cat, all I can say is that when I made my comment (too hastily) I wasn’t thinking about the water temp OR the depth. I also wrongfully assumed that the water would be fairly shallow, that close to shore 10,15 ft. deep,max. The people that were there probably KNEW that… Read more »
Big Rick is the resident on everything, especially those things of which he knows nothing.
If you can’t put your REAL name on your opinions, especially when all they do is badmouth mine, find some other way to amuse yourself, Reality.
The CHP ag station? I think that is the State department of agriculture station.