One Flown To Dallas After Boating Accident

By J.C. Jones

A major boating accident sent one person to a Dallas hospital Monday.

The incident was reported at 10:24 a.m. Monday.

A green 17-foot boat with an 80 horsepower motor struck a white Arrowglass 16-foot boat that was anchored while fishing, and propelled over the smaller boat that was carrying five people. Two people were in the larger boat.

The force of the impact ejected two persons that were retrieved from the lake at the scene. The driver of the white boat swam back to his boat and a passenger was pulled out of the water by the occupants of the green boat.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Warden Dale Waters said, "The green 17-foot boat was southbound on Lake Tawakoni near the Rabbit Cove area. The white Arrowglass 16-foot boat was anchored while drift fishing.

"The green boat had a center console and the wife of the driver was sitting on the console. The driver told me that he never saw the white boat," Waters added.

One injured passenger from the white boat was taken to Parkland Hospital of Dallas by a Life Star Helicopter and three passengers from the white boat and a passenger from the green boat were taken by American Medical Response ambulances to Presbyterian Hospital of Greenville.

Both boats returned to the public boat ramp at the Caddo Fishing Barge area where the West Tawakoni Fire Department setup a command post with the assistance of Tawakoni South volunteers. They established a landing zone on an asphalt road leading to the boat ramp for the Life Star helicopter and assisted the AMR paramedics in treating the injured.

Names of the injured could not be obtained at press time.