A planned day of boating took an unexpected turn for a man and woman who headed to Lake Allatoona.

Cherokee fire officials say the pair was trying to put a boat in the water at the Payne Creek campground off Kellogg Creek road shortly after 11:30 Thursday morning. The woman backed the boat down the ramp and into the water. The man gave an “all clear.” The woman then stepped on the gas not realizing the truck was still in reverse. The truck and trailer went into the water, with the man quickly jumping free. The Cherokee County dive team responded and pulled the boat out of the water, reopening the ramp after about two hours.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com