Boat hits jet ski in deadly crash on Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia
By Erin Brookshier - Virginia Today Traffic Reporter Published: July 4, 2016, 5:25 am Updated: July 4, 2016, 8:36 am
PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA (WSLS10)– One person is dead and another is hurt after a boat crashed into a jet ski on Smith Mountain Lake Sunday night.
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries confirms the accident happened Sunday night at 7:45 p.m. Investigators say the an 18-year-old from Martinsville, whose name has not been released, was driving a boat near the Anthony Ford Boat Launch. The driver pulled into a cove and quickly turned around. As the boat was pulling back out, it hit a jet ski.
The passenger of that jet ski, at 17-year-old girl, from Clemmons, NC, was killed in the crash. The driver, a 19-year-old from Danville, was hurt. He was taken to Carilion Franklin Memorial Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. No word on his condition at this point.
Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash. Crews will be back out at the scene Monday morning as the investigation continues.