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Man, 31, drowns in river
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Funeral services are Saturday for a local construction worker who drowned Monday while working on a TDOT bridge project.Morrison resident Abimael Contreras Martinez, 31, was found around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Tennessee River by Coffee County Rescue Squad members and divers from Winchester. His body was spotted about 60 feet deep in water, around 150 feet from where he fell in, according to a report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.Martinez was an employee of one of the subcontractors working on a TDOT bridge replacement project on Highway 41 in Marion County.According to family members and witnesses, Martinez couldn’t swim and his life preserver came off when he fell into the water. Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnett said some rescue workers speculated the 55-degree water may have contributed to his death.Martinez was not on the bridge itself, but was stepping from one barge to another when he fell.He is survived by his wife, Stephanie Pinegar Ontiveros Contreras, and other family members.