A midnight Norris Lake boating accident involving a personal watercraft and two employees of Stardust Marina left one man in the hospital and a customer’s personal watercraft severely damaged.
The accident occurred near the marina’s harbor limits when the employees took a joy-ride on a tenant’s PWC and hit a floating concrete sign, which was on the line of “No-Wake” buoys. The operator, who was thrown from the PWC and onto the floating sign, was knocked unconscious and sustained head injuries. The passenger was uninjured.
The accident is being investigated by Anderson County Wildlife Officers Jason Lankford and Roy Smith who stated that alcohol and speed were possibly factors in the accident. Neither man was wearing a personal flotation device.
State law prohibits PWC use between sunset and sunrise and requires that everyone onboard wear a personal flotation device.
The officers met with the district attorney’s office Monday to discuss six-to-seven potential boating and criminal charges.