A 28-year-old artist from Lilburn, Georgia, has died after drowning during a boating trip on Lake Allatoona. Fidel 'Omil' Ojway was with friends on Sunday when he jumped into the water and did not resurface.
Friends reported that the incident was sudden. "It was a split second. Everything was okay and it’s, 'Where’s Omil?' He just went down in the water, no fight, nothing, he just sunk," said Narji Njau, a friend of Ojway's, speaking to WSB-TV Channel 2. Ojway was known to be a swimmer, adding to the mystery surrounding his death.
Emergency crews utilized sonar technology in an effort to locate Ojway. His body was recovered in the early hours of Monday by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is set to conduct an autopsy to determine the official cause of death.
Njau described the event as shocking, especially given the group's familiarity with Lake Allatoona, where they had boated many times before. "I can’t put a pin on what I’m feeling. It just feels like a void," Njau said.
Ojway was remembered as a multi-talented individual who brought joy to those around him. He studied animation at the Savannah College of Art and Design and was also enrolled in classes at Gwinnett Technical College. "He was an artist, he was a brother, a son, a friend. He was a person who always had a smile on his face," Njau added. "Always put a smile on other people’s faces. He was joy, the emulation of joy."
A GoFundMe campaign has been established to assist with funeral expenses, which had raised nearly $10,000 as of Thursday.
Lake Allatoona is a popular recreational area in northwestern Georgia, covering over 12,000 acres. Ojway's death was one of four drownings reported in Georgia over the July 4th weekend. Law enforcement officials responded to multiple incidents during the holiday period, including six boating incidents and three injuries. Thirty-four arrests were made for boating under the influence, though none of the reported deaths were linked to boating crashes.