TWRA Investigator Matt Majors stands at the engine’s lower unit, which was torn from the boat during an accident at Heatherly’s point on Norris Lake late Thursday night. The vessel traveled about 69 feet after striking the point. (Photo by TWRA)
LAFOLLETTE—A LaFollette boater remains in serious condition following a boating accident that happened on Norris Lake late Thursday night, authorities said.
Just before midnight, Jimmy Arnold, a 52-year-old white male from LaFollette, was operating an open bow 24-foot Chaparral boat on Norris Lake when the accident occurred just downstream of Shanghai Marina, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said.
According to witnesses on a nearby houseboat, Arnold, who was the vessel’s sole occupant, was headed to their location at Heatherly’s point when the vessel ran aground, sending it about 69 feet onto the point. Witnesses onboard the houseboat dialed 911.
Members of Campbell County EMS responded to the accident and delivered Arnold to crews with UT Lifestar, who airlifted him to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
The accident remains under investigation by the TWRA.
More information will be added as it becomes available.
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