Coroner: Man died of 'cardiac event' at Lake Martin

DADEVILLE, Ala. (AP) - A coroner says a Calera man died of an apparent “cardiac event” while swimming in Lake Martin.

Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox tells Al.com (https://bit.ly/1gtYLW8 ) it appears 61-year-old James M. Harrell suffered “a cardiac event of some sort” around 3 p.m. Sunday.

Knox said Harrell was taken to Lake Martin Community Hospital in Dadeville, where he was pronounced dead.

Knox said it appears Harrell had drifted away from a boat on a float and was stricken when he tried to get back to the boat. Others in his group came to his aid and CPR was performed.

The coroner said it appears to have been “a natural death.”