DALLAS — On many weekends, John Turner, his wife and their friends can be found in their boats on Lake Ray Hubbard.
That's where they were the evening of July 4.
"In an instant, it went from peaceful to chaos," Turner said.
That's when they saw as many as 10 people thrown out of the back of a boat into the water. Two men in the boat never resurfaced. Crews recovered their bodies Friday morning.
The Turners and their friend, Eric Moore, say the people fell out of the boat when the boat made a hard right turn.
"Centrifugal force just threw them out of the boat," Moore said.
They quickly realized the people in the water weren't wearing life jackets.
Moore and another friend jumped into the water.
His friend swam to one woman and rescued her, he said.
Moore, a one-time varsity swimmer, swam about 200 meters to another woman.
"She was grabbing at me because she was trying to hold herself above water," he said. "All she could say was, 'my brother my husband, my brother and my husband.' She just said it over and over. "
Meanwhile, Turner said he and other friends unhooked one of the boats and used it to help get people out of the water.
Friday morning, Moore felt compelled to return to the lake. He was there as crews recovered the men's bodies.
He says the woman he rescued told him she just had a baby and that's why she wasn't able to swim.
"It's been hard getting through today because yesterday when we got home, my family, our family was with us," Moore said. "Their family wasn't."
He and his friends say it's reminder that following safety rules can mean the difference between life and death.
Turner recommends that anyone captaining a boat take a safety course.
They also say that people should not be in the back of the boat while it's moving. It's just too dangerous.
And if people on the boat can't swim, they should be wearing life jackets.
"I've got great memories of my family on our boat.," Moore said. "But in the blink of an eye as we saw last night, it can turn to tragedy.
On Sunday, July 7, the medical examiner identified the victims as 35-year-old Bilal Muzhir Al Khafaji Ali and 34-year-old Karawan Jasim Ghadhban Al-Behadili.
The janaza (funeral) for the men will be on July 8 right after Salat Al Duhr at 2 p.m. at Masjid Al Hedaya (8601 Randol Mill Road). Their burial will be at A'Noor Cemetery in Arlington (1214 N. Davis Dr.). The family will be accepting condolences at Masjid Al Hedaya from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on July 8.