Exposure to Algae Kills Teen

July 14, 2002 – Madison, WI
Dane Rogers and four other boys went over a fence to enter Vitense Golfland after hours to swim and cool off on a warm night. They jumped into an algae-filled pond, were splashing around, wrestling, diving under, sometimes swallowing water. Two days later Rogers went into shock, suffered a seizure and then his heart failed.

After a yearlong investigation Dane County coroner John Stanley concluded that Rogers death likely was due to exposure to a toxin released by algae.

Dane Rogers (17)