CAMARILLO : Man, 34, Drowns in Development’s Lake
A Camarillo man drowned after the paddle boat carrying him and his fiancee tipped over in a man-made lake at the Lakeside Villas condominium complex off Carmen Drive, authorities said.
Romain (Kim) Thomas, 34, who worked as a martial arts instructor, was pronounced dead at 11:08 p.m. Saturday at Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, said Craig Stevens, senior deputy coroner for Ventura County.
Thomas and his fiancee were riding in a paddle boat on Camino Lake at the complex where Thomas lived when the boat turned over about 9 p.m. and Thomas sank, according to Stevens and sheriff’s deputies.
“Mr. Thomas did not know how to swim,” Stevens said.
Authorities are investigating the possibility that a third person may have been in the boat, he said.
After Thomas’ fiancee called authorities, rescue personnel searched the lake for about an hour before they found him, Stevens said.
Hospital personnel worked on Thomas for 30 minutes in an unsuccessful attempt to revive him.
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