A crash between two personal watercraft resulted in one teen being flown by medical helicopter to an area hospital for injuries, according to Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills.
The crash happened around 2 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, on the Putnam County side of Lake Sinclair.
Parker Dingler, 16, and Trenton Harden, 17, both of Social Circle, were driving Bombardier personal watercraft in the Bear Creek Road area of the lake, according to Sills.
Both watercraft were traveling in the same direction, he noted.
“Dingler was ahead of Harden,” Sills explained. “They were traveling fast when suddenly Dingler took a hard right turn without notice into Harden’s path.”
Harden was unable to avoid crashing into Dingler’s PWC, and the force of the impact ejected both young men from their watercraft. Dingler was injured, and Harden did not appear to be injured.
“A homeowner rescued them by boat, and EMS was already there treating Dingler when my deputy arrived,” Sills said.
Sills said he did not know if the teens were wearing life jackets. Georgia Department of Natural Resources game wardens worked the case.
On Tuesday, DNR Sgt. Mike Wilcox said the incident is still under investigation by DNR’s Critical Incident Reconstruction Team.
Authorities did not know the status of Dingler’s well-being at The Eatonton Messenger’s press time.