Several injuries reported on Georgia waterways holiday weekend
Lake Lanier. FOX 5 Atlanta photo
ATLANTA - Georgia game wardens spent the Memorial Day holiday weekend responding to a series of boating incidents across the state, several of which involved injured children.
RELATED: Over 250 DUI arrests reported on Memorial Day weekend in Georgia
The Georgia Department of Natural Resources released its final boating activity report Tuesday covering the period from May 23 through May 25.
Multiple incidents reported on Lake Hartwell
What we know:
Two separate incidents involving children were reported over the weekend on Lake Hartwell.
Around 4:40 p.m. Saturday, game wardens responded to a crash involving a single personal watercraft carrying two people. Officials said a 7-year-old girl suffered a leg injury after being thrown from the vessel.
Investigators said the operator, an 18-year-old man, had not completed Georgia’s required boating education course and the personal watercraft was not properly registered. Alcohol was not believed to be a factor in the crash. The operator received citations, and the child was taken to a hospital in Lavonia with non-life-threatening injuries.
A second incident happened Sunday afternoon when a 6-year-old girl injured her hand while getting off a beached boat near Gumlog Cove. Authorities said another child pushed the girl from the vessel, causing her hand to become caught in the boat door as she fell. She was later transported to Scottish Rite Hospital in Atlanta for treatment.
Child hurt on Lake Oconee
On Monday afternoon, game wardens responded to Swords Landing on Lake Oconee after an 8-year-old boy suffered a head injury aboard a ski boat.
Officials said the child fell while playing inside the boat and suffered a laceration to his head. His mother transported him to Morgan Medical Center for treatment.
Other crashes reported statewide
Authorities also responded Monday morning to a boating crash on the Chattahoochee River in Stewart County after a vessel struck floating wooden debris.
Game wardens said the impact threw the operator into a seat inside the boat, while also damaging the vessel’s engine and transom. The operator later sought treatment at a Columbus emergency room complaining of neck pain.
Meanwhile, in Bryan County, game wardens investigated a docking crash Sunday afternoon on Red Bird Creek involving a boat carrying four adults and two children. Officials said the vessel struck another docked boat while attempting to park at the Waterways Community Dock, causing more than $2,000 in property damage. No injuries were reported.