Just hours after graduating high school, a Georgia teen died while playing a dangerous game with friends, this according to police.
"Eighteen-year old Chance Werner drowned Sunday. Officials say he was with a group of teens playing a game with a grocery cart at the lake at the time. The teens had tied the cart to a pole, then took turns pushing each other into the lake." (Via WGCL)
But witnesses told authorities, when it was Werner's turn to play, the cart was tied to the teen instead of a pole. The weight of the cart pulled him under, and he never came back to the surface. (Via WXIA)
Police told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Werner was playing the game with several other teens and an adult at Lake Allatoona late Saturday night. Witnesses told the paper he had graduated from high school earlier that day.
Werner's family says he was also a doting father to his 8-month-old son. WAGA reports he took classes online to complete his education and worked five days a week to support him.
Authorities say they were able to recover the teen's body early Sunday, which was submerged in nearly 30 feet of water and still tied to the shopping cart. Werner's family says they wish they knew what led to this tragic accident.
"It's a tragic thing; that little time period where the rope got put onto him and where he got into the water is still a very gray area. We have no answers for that yet." (Via WSB-TV)
Werner's father told reporters he thinks his son might have been drinking right before he died, but that has yet to be confirmed by authorities. The family is now reportedly focusing on raising money for the teen's funeral.
