JUNE 12, 2015
ROGERS, ARKANSAS
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.
Source: http://www.nwaonline.com