Five people hurt in weekend boating incidents at Lake of the Ozarks

Emergency crews took five people to the hospital for incidents on the Lake of the Ozarks over the weekend.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported seven separate incidents at the lake from Friday through Sunday, including several boat crashes. All but one happened in Morgan County.

Trooper Brian Geier with the Missouri State Highway Patrol said that number is higher than the highway patrol has seen in past weekends this summer.

Sunday, a 7-year-old girl was thrown from a pontoon while going over a large wake. She was not hurt.

But some other boaters were not so lucky. Saturday, one boat driver was blinded by direct sunlight and hit another watercraft, throwing both drivings out of their boats. Emergency crews took the two men to the hospital. One was not wearing a life jacket and was later flown to University Hospital in Columbia in serious condition.

Geier said because weekends are more crowded on the lake, the water level is higher, impacting wake sizes.

“The big this is slow down when you see a large wake,” Geier said. “That’s really the main thing. If there’s a large wake coming, slow down, go over it, increase your speed back up to a normal speed. And we always tell people you can’t operate at the same speed on a Saturday as you can on a Monday or a Tuesday.”

In another incident on Friday, two Sea-Doos crashed, throwing a 20-year-old into the water. He went to the hospital with a leg injury. Geier said both people involved in the crash were inexperienced drivers.

“We encourage everyone to go through a proper boating safety education course,” Geier said. “It is required for younger operators, but we encourage everyone to do it. There’s quite a bit of good information in there. But the main thing is pay attention, be aware of your surroundings, and don’t go any faster than you’re comfortable with.”

Geier said anyone who drives a boat at the lake born after Jan. 1, 1984 is required to take a 40-hour boat operator course through the highway patrol.

All operators and riders of personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis or Sea-Doos, are required to wear life jackets. And on boats, children younger than 7 years old are required to wear life jackets at all times.