A UTV passenger who died after the vehicle went into open water on Lake Winnebago Saturday…north of Lakeside Park has been identified. The victim has been identified as 67 year old Clay Creighton from the town of Taycheeda. The driver of the UTV was identified as 56 year old Michael Huffman of Fond du Lac. The incident happened early Saturday afternoon about a quarter mile north of the Fond du Lac Yacht Club. According to the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office two bystanders were able to pull the men out of the water onto the ice. When paramedics arrived they began CPR on Creighton who was reported pulseless and not breathing. He was later pronounced dead at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt says an autopsy will determine the cause of death and whether he may have drowned or suffered from a medical condition. Waldschmidt also told WFDL news that initially when Creighton was pulled onto the ice a bystander “declined to perform CPR,” but says other bystanders stepped in and were performing CPR when paramedics got to the scene. “They (bystanders) just weren’t comfortable doing that (CPR) given the environment and the factors. Our 911 Center is a certified center and gives CPR instructions over the phone, and it sounds like one of the initial callers was declining,” Waldschmidt told WFDL news. “We can’t compel them to do that or force them to do CPR, but we have those instructions available. But then some other additional bystanders that were in the area also came over to help and it was one of them that did start CPR.” Huffman was treated for hypothermic-related symptoms. Both men were in the water for approximately 20 minutes, standing on the UTV which had sunk to the bottom of the lake in about eight feet of water. The Sheriff’s Office says the men were wearing their seatbelts but did not have helmets or flotation devices. According to the Sheriff’s Office unfamiliarity with where an active crack on the lake was, which was marked with downed Christmas trees, appears to be a factor in the crash. The Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office would like to remind the public that the ice is never 100% safe and to be vigilant with the changing ice conditions.
