Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a Steuben County boating incident that resulted in multiple injuries on Lake Gage Saturday.
Conservation officers say the driver of the boat was operating it at a high rate of speed when the boat took a sharp turn. At least ten people were thrown off board. Several were seriously injured, and were transported to shore in local citizens’ boats.
WNDU reports two people were flown to the hospital with serious injuries, including a skull fracture and a partial lower arm amputation. Others with less serious injuries were transported to Cameron Memorial Hospital in Angola.
The motorboat involved was still running and unmanned, circling the lake at around 30 miles per hour. DNR officers were able to slow the runaway boat by throwing a rope into the propeller. A conservation officer was able to use a nearby personal watercraft and jump onto the boat and bring it to a stop.
20-year-old Domonique Effinger of Fort Wayne was found to be operating the boat. She was arrested for Boating While Intoxicated causing injury and being a minor in possession of alcohol.
