Weekend filled with lake mishaps
Posted on Tuesday, September 4, 2007
BEAVER LAKE - Labor Day weekend was riddled with accidents on various parts of Beaver Lake, officials reported Monday.
Several people were hospitalized with serious injuries from various accidents, Park Ranger Alan Bland said.
In one accident in the Clifty area, a person riding an innertube was run over by the boat that was pulling the person. The boat was making a wide turn when the person was hit. The driver of the boat fled the scene, and park officials believe the driver was intoxicated, Bland said.
"She was cut up pretty bad with the boat propeller," he said of the person injured on the innertube.
There were several back injuries, including some that were severe, in several other accidents on the water, Bland said. Some of the accidents involved people falling off tubes that were being pulled by boats, and another accident involved two personal water crafts colliding.
"There's just a tremendous amount of boats out on the lake," Bland said.
Bland said this is the busiest Labor Day weekend he's seen on Beaver Lake in the 25 years he's been a ranger. Although there were several accidents over the weekend, he was pleased about one statistic from the entire summer.
"We've been lucky that there's not been one drowning yet this summer," he said.
Although it was a rough weekend for some, there were many people who enjoyed the nice weather on the last traditional day of summer.
Adriana Guzman of Springdale joined members of her congregation at Fellowship Bible Church. She's a member of the church's Hispanic congregation, and she was at the lake to witness more than a dozen people be baptized. She was baptized at Beaver Lake two years ago, Guzman said.
"You can be baptized anywhere, but that's how Jesus did it," she said.
Crystal Bishop of Rogers was at the lake with several family members. They enjoyed eating a picnic lunch, swimming and fishing. While her mother-in-law, Linda Bishop, was frustrated with the low number of disabledaccess parking spots at the park, the family still enjoyed the time outdoors together.
"We wanted to let the summer out with a bang," she said. "We didn't do anything like this on any of the holidays."
Getting to play in the water was the most fun aspect for siblings Dallas Sulffridge, Autumn Bishop and CJ Bishop.
"I like the mud on my feet," CJ Bishop said. "I'm jealous of my sister because the fish were nibbling on her feet but not mine."
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