A post-wedding party cruising on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake was involved in a devastating boating accident at about 2 a.m. Sunday, two hours after marine police stopped the party for not following lake rules. A person missing from the boat was found dead and three other passengers were injured when the 20-foot boat they were in collided with a breakwater structure near the Arrowhead Yacht Club area on the Duck Creek arm of Grand Lake. According to the Grand River Dam Authority’s preliminary report, alcohol and excessive speed contributed to the fatal boating accident. If you have suffered injuries in an Oklahoma boating accident caused by another person’s negligence, contact our qualified boating accident attorneys at AMA Law to explore your compensation options. Don’t hesitate to protect your legal rights; Dan Markoff and his team of experienced boating accident lawyers are standing by, ready to help.
OK BOATING ACCIDENT KILLS ONE, INJURES THREE
Although investigators were unable to determine the boat’s speed at the time of the collision, it was decided that the boat was above idle, which is a violation of Duck Creek rules. In fact, shortly before midnight, GRDA police stopped the group aboard the boat for operating above idle speed in a no-wake zone. Unfortunately, approximately two hours later, the boat was involved in a deadly crash, throwing three men, ages 39, 39 and 17, from the boat and injuring another 39-year-old man. One man remained missing until 12 hours later, when his body was found in 50 feet of water – deemed an accidental drowning. According to the police report, numerous opened and unopened cans of beer were found in and around the boat, and an alcoholic odor was detected on two of the passengers. The report states that one of the injured men was operating the boat at the time of the accident, but the other passengers claim that the driver was actually the man who was killed – his blood alcohol level was found to be 0.20.
BOATING ACCIDENT ATTORNEYS FOR INJURY CLAIMS
GRDA police reported that none of the boaters in the Grand Lake accident were wearing life jackets. Two of the injured passengers were flown by helicopter to Tulsa hospitals and a third was taken to Integris Grove General Hospital and was then transferred to a Tulsa hospital. Unfortunately, boating accidents are not an uncommon occurrence in Oklahoma. Every year, there are nearly 100 OK boating accidents that are serious enough to be reported to the authorities, injuring nearly as many people and killing between five and ten others. If you have been injured in an Oklahoma boating accident, contact our skilled boating accident attorneys at AMA Law as soon as possible. Too often, boating accident victims are denied the reimbursement they are entitled to for their injuries and medical bills, simply because they are vulnerable. With the help of our reputable boating accident lawyers at AMA Law, you can protect your legal rights and seek fair and timely compensation for your injuries.