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Alabama official walks back claim that 4 locals died doing dangerous ‘boat-jumping’ TikTok trend: report

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Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Capt. Jim Dennis of the Childresburg Rescue Squad has walked back his original claims that local drownings were tied to the TikTok “boat-jumping” trend.

An Alabama official claimed that a deadly TikTok trend has killed four people in the past six months — then walked back his remarks days later, alleging that his previous statements were “blown way out of proportion.”

Jim Dennis, captain of the Childersburg Rescue Squad, is now insisting recent drownings in the area are not linked to a social media phenomenon that encourages daredevils to leap out of speeding boats — despite being quoted as saying so earlier this month.

“We’ve had four drownings in the last six to eight months (that the Childersburg Rescue Squad worked) and some of those were just drownings,’’ Dennis told AL.com Monday, retconning his original claims that risk-takers were breaking their necks trying to take part in the TikTok “boatjumping” stunt.

“To say that’s the reason they died, I can’t say that. That would be a matter of opinion.”

“It got blown way out of proportion,’’ Dennis said, adding that there is no data to support his original claims.

Earlier this month, Dennis told multiple media outlets that several people died after leaping from a boat, only to break their necks on the wake and drown.

“Last six months we have had four drownings that were easily avoidable. They were doing a TikTok challenge. It’s where you get in a boat going at a high rate of speed, you jump off the side of the boat, don’t dive, you’re jumping off feet first and you just kinda lean into the water,” Dennis told WBMA.

He told ABC 7: “The four that we responded to when they jumped out of the boat, they literally broke their neck and, you know, basically an instant death … I think people, if they’re being filmed on camera, I think they’re more likely to do something stupid because they want to show off in front of their friends for social media.”

The trend — dubbed boat jumping — has been an issue for first responders over the last two years, the captain said, but has especially picked up since the beginning of the year.

Dennis claimed one man died in February after performing the trick in front of his wife and children, with them capturing his death on camera.

Despite the tragic end, three others reportedly ignored rescuers’ warnings and succumbed to the same fate.

But the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Monday that Dennis’ claims were “incorrect.”

The state department said that two people were fatally injured after jumping out of a moving vessel in 2020 and 2021, respectively, but that there were no similar deaths on record this year.

The ALEA told The Post that it has investigated six maritime deaths in 2023, though none occurred in the vicinity of Childersburg, a city roughly 50 miles southeast of Birmingham.

The nearest drowning occurred after a 32-year-old man “voluntarily enter[ed] the water from a vessel” in a lake nearly 30 miles from Childersburg.

“The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Marine Patrol Division does not have any record(s) of boating or marine-related fatalities in Alabama that can be directly linked to TikTok or a trend on TikTok,” it said in a statement.

A TikTok trend, dubbed boat jumping, has killed at least four people in Alabama this year. nataliejillfit/TikTok
The trend has been an issue for first responders over the last two years but has especially picked up since the beginning of the year. nataliejillfit/TikTok

A TikTok search for “#boatjumping” or any iteration of the two words shows a stream of daredevils of all ages filming the dangerous stunt.

The high rate of speed of the boat combined with the still water make for a dangerous landing pad that feels similar to concrete.

If an individual who jumps from a moving boat doesn’t protect their neck and head, they could become permanently paralyzed if not more than likely suffer an instant death.

A TikTok search for “#boatjumping” or any iteration of the two words shows a stream of daredevils filming their potential brushes with what Dennis called “instant death.” dayyachtcharters/TikTok
The high rate of speed of the boat combined with the still water make for a dangerous landing pad that feels similar to concrete. dayyachtcharters/TikTok

Dennis — who urged boaters to avoid the deadly trend — now claims that comments were taken out of context during interviews he gave promoting boating safety.

Dennis told AL.com that in one of the deaths his squad worked on, the victim had jumped from a moving boat and that another died after leaping from a vessel, though there were conflicting statements over whether it had been moving at the time.

The rescue squad does not get to view coroner reports, so Dennis is unsure what actually attributed to their deaths.

“If we have a drowning, we may know unofficially what it is but to make an official statement, that would have to come from ALEA. Sometimes it’s a year or two before they get the final coroner’s report,” he said.

Dennis did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment and a number for the Childersburg Rescue Squad was not in service. It’s Facebook page is also no longer active.