An 18-year-old Canton Township man was hospitalized after his high-speed collision with a ski boat on Cass Lake. The accident occurred at approximately 4:52 p.m. Monday and involved the man on a personal watercraft and a 23-foot ski boat that was towing an individual on an inflatable tube, reported by CBS News Detroit.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team arrived to find the wreckage and the young man in the water. Attempts to swiftly bring him to the shore were successful, as described in a statement obtained by ClickOnDetroit. The injured man was then transported to hospital in stable condition.
The ski boat operator, also an 18-year-old man from Dearborn Heights, did not sustain any injuries in the crash. An additional passenger on the ski boat suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment on the scene. Despite the severity of the collision, authorities do not suspect that drugs or alcohol played a role, as noted by The Detroit News.
The Oakland County Sheriff's Office is continuing to actively investigate the cause of the crash. This incident marks the fifth significant boating accident the Search and Rescue Team has had to respond to since last Thursday, including a fatality and two critical injuries on separate occasions. The escalation of boating accidents is an alarming trend noted by officials, as they have had to also respond to several other incidents in the broader area, including a drowning on White Lake and a Lake Erie boat crash resulting in critical injuries.
