A tragic incident on Old Hickory Lake has claimed the life of a 10-year-old boy after a jet ski collision. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) received calls about the accident at approximately 5 p.m. on Tuesday and responded to the scene near the Boxwell Reservation, where the crash involved a pair of jet skis. WKRN reported the preliminary investigation details.
The boy was on one of the jet skis along with a 19-year-old female staffer from a joint event between the Tennessee National Guard and the Boy Scouts when they collided with another watercraft. Following the crash, the woman was rushed to Vanderbilt Medical Center for treatment, while the boy, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries at Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital, WSMV confirmed.
No other injuries were reported from the colliding vessel as the incident occurred, a statement that reaffirms the harrowing singularity of the boy's fate. The ongoing investigation by TWRA marks this event as the third boating death on the lake in 2024, and the twelfth across Tennessee waterways so far this year, as WSMV reports.
In the aftermath of the collision, deputies administered life-saving measures to the boy until paramedics arrived, The Tennessean detailed. As the community grapples with the loss, TWRA continues to lead the rigorous investigation to determine the exact cause, and circumstances of this tragic event, as they are tasked with not only the enforcement of wildlife and boating regulations but also the somber duty of unraveling such calamities.
