North Carolina man drowns in South Carolina creek

BLACKSBURG, S.C. (AP) — A North Carolina man has drowned in a creek in South Carolina.

Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler says the victim was 44-year-old Chad Allen Clayton of Gastonia, N.C.

Fowler says Clayton was at a recreational area of Kings Creek about eight miles east of Blacksburg late Saturday afternoon. Witnesses said Clayton stumbled into the water and then went under.

Another swimmer found him in about 3 feet of water and pulled him to shore where CPR was administered until paramedics and the local fire department arrived.

Clayton was taken to Upstate Carolina Medical Center in Gaffney where he was pronounced dead.

The coroner said family members said Clayton was a good swimmer and had visited the site for years.

Fowler says the drowning was an accident.