Jet Skis Collide, Boat Capsizes on Lake Allatoona

Two people were hurt in the only Memorial Day boating incident on Lake Allatoona thus far, Georgia Department of Resources Conversation officials said late Sunday.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rangers spotted two jet skis jumping the wake of a boat and attempted to stop the activity about 1 p.m. at Bartow County's Highway 41 Day Use Area in Acworth, spokesman Melissa Cummings said.

"While doing so, one (jet ski) stopped and the other was not paying attention and ran into the first (jet ski)," she said via email.

A 60-year-old man was cited for violating the 100 foot law, but Cummings did not provide his name. A passenger on the other jet ski, a 19-year-old man, was injured in the left arm.

His family drove him to the hospital for treatment.

Authorities have charged five people with boating under the influence of alcohol on Lake Allatoona and, across the state, a total of 24. In Georgia, three boating incidents have led to a total of four injuries and one person has drown this holiday weekend.

No one went under when a boat capsized Sunday on Lake Allatoona, and DNR authorities say the incident highlights the importance of wearing a life jacket while boating.

The boat had steering linkage problems when shortly after 5 p.m., another vessel created a large wake, or wave, which swamped the smaller boat, filling the back of it with water.   

It capsized in Bartow County near Cartersville's Red Top Mountain State Park, but both occupants were wearing life jackets and swam safely to shore. The boat will be recovered by a local boat recovery operation, Cummings said.