18-year-old Canton man hospitalized after crashing personal watercraft into ski boat towing tube on Cass Lake: sheriff

WATERFORD TWP. (WWJ) -- A young Canton Township man is hospitalized after a crash involving a personal watercraft and a boat on an Oakland County lake.

The Oakland County Sheriff's Office said its Search and Rescue Team responded shortly before 5 p.m. Monday at Cass Lake in Waterford Township, on a report of a boating accident.

At the scene, first responders found an injured man in the water, and a personal watercraft (PWC) — which is typically something like a jet ski — that was destroyed in the crash.

An investigation determined that an 18-year-old Canton man was operating the PWC "at a high rate of speed" when he collided with a 23-foot ski boat that was pulling a person on an inflatable tube, according to the sheriff's office.

The Canton man was pulled from the water and taken by paramedics to a hospital where he was listed in stable condition.

The driver of the boat, an 18-year-old Dearborn Heights man, wasn't hurt, and a passenger on the boat declined treatment for minor injuries.

While the investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office said it is not believed that alcohol or drugs were a factor.

The crash was the fifth serious boating incident responded to by the Search and Rescue Team since Thursday, which included one fatality, according to the OCSO.

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