Man found floating in Falls Lake dies

The unidentified 44-year-old man and his wife were riding personal watercrafts near the Rolling View Recreational Area at the Wake-Durham county line at about 11:30 a.m. when he lost control in a turn, said Sgt. Tim Sasser of the state Wildlife Resources Commission.

The man fell off into the water and might have struck his head on the back of the craft, Sasser said, noting the man was wearing a life jacket and the proper safety equipment at the time of the accident.

"He was on it by himself and ... he made a right turn and hit his head," he said. "(His wife was) the only witness that actually saw what happened."

The man was able to call once to his wife for help before losing consciousness, Sasser said.

"When he actually fell and came off the jet, he actually responded and said, 'Get me some help,' or something to that effect," he said.

Several rescue boats responded to the area, and paramedics performed CPR on the man in a boat on a boat launch for several minutes before he was taken by ambulance to Duke University Hospital.

"They tried CPR ... for about 20 minutes," said Sam Corbett, who witnessed the rescue attempt. "I was hoping they'd be able to get him back to life. There were three or four of them trying to perform CPR."

Authorities haven't determined whether the man drowned, died from a medical condition or suffered some type of trauma.