Teen dies in Beaver Lake boating accident

An Arkansas Game and Fish officer inspects a personal watercraft at Prairie Creek Marina after it was involved in a crash with another craft on Beaver Lake on Thursday June 11, 2015.
An Arkansas Game and Fish officer inspects a personal watercraft at Prairie Creek Marina after it was involved in a crash with another craft on Beaver Lake on Thursday June 11, 2015.

ROGERS -- A 14-year-old girl died after a personal watercraft accident on Beaver Lake near the Prairie Creek Marina on Thursday.

Three people were riding two personal watercraft before the accident, said Alan Bland, park ranger with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. A 14-year-old driving one of the watercraft stopped and the other watercraft hit it head on, Bland said.

Initial reports indicated the second craft was operated by the 14-year-old's aunt, he said. An 8-year-old girl was riding on the back of the second watercraft with the woman.

Radio traffic from rescuers indicated the accident was between a mile and a half mile from shore.

Personal watercraft have no brakes, Bland said. By the time the driver saw the girl in front of her it would have been too late to get around her. The teen was taken to Mercy Hospital, according to the Rogers Fire Department.

A helicopter was on standby but medics were performing CPR on the girl so she was taken by ambulance. CPR is difficult to do in the helicopter, Bland said. She was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital, he said. The girl's name has not been released.

"She never even had a chance," he said.

Two teenagers were the first to get to the accident.

Ty Garlington, 16, of Springdale, said he saw the accident happen. He and Kade Keith, 14, of Springdale were on their first fishing trip of the season, 300 yards away from the collision. They were fishing and they heard jet skis, Ty said.

"They were horsing around trying to catch each other's wake, doing doughnuts," Kade said.

Kade turned back to fish and Ty saw the 14-year-old girl stop in the water and the second watercraft hit her. The driver didn't see the girl stopped in front of her, he said.

"I think she looked off for a few seconds," Ty said.

He handed Kade his phone and they called 911. They loaded the 8-year-old into the boat and helped keep the other girl upright after they were told not to move her into the boat. They kept the watercraft from moving while they waited for help. The family watched from the shoreline but had no other way to get out to the boat.

It felt like 45 minutes before help arrived, the two said. The injured girl was bleeding and had trouble breathing and her aunt had a cut to her forehead.

The patients had already been loaded on a boat and had been brought to shore when Rogers firefighters arrived, said Eddie Thompson, battalion chief.

Rogers firefighters were dispatched to a traffic collision 5:54 p.m. They were headed to the hospital by 6:40 p.m., he said.

The other two people involved in the incident were treated for minor injuries, Bland said.

Arkansas Game & Fish will be handling the investigation of the accident, he said.

Arkansas boating regulations require children 12 to 15 years old to have a person 18 years old or older onboard who has a boating education card.

Bland estimated there are 7-10 reported accidents involving personal watercraft on Beaver Lake each year. A fatal accident, especially one involving personal watercraft is unusual.

"A lot of them are really minor and a lot of them we never even hear about," he said.

NW News on 06/12/2015

Upcoming Events