Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, May 17, 1993 TAG: 9305170071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: CAROLYN CLICK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Charles E. Blankenship of Clear Forks, W.Va., was moving from one fishing spot to another when his 1971 boat struck a boat traveling in the opposite direction piloted by William Franklin Payne of Stuarts Draft.
Officials reported no injuries.
"The accident was due to faulty lights on the Blankenship boat," said Lt. Karl Martin of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
He said the accident occurred about 10:30 p.m. at the "S-turns" near Smith Mountain Lake State Park in Bedford County.
"The boats were damaged severely but still floating," and managed to get to shore and radio for help, said Martin.
Officers G.C. Arrington and A.S. Pike responded to the accident.
The Blankenship boat was declared a total loss and the Payne boat, a 1987 18-footer, sustained an estimated $2,000 in damage.
Martin said the accident underscores the necessity of proper lighting on boats plying the congested lake.
"It's the most heavily traveled body of water at night in the state of Virginia," said Martin.
In a separate incident, Martin said an unidentified boater also sustained a broken arm Saturday in a fall aboard a boat on the lake.
The boater, who fell in the boat when a large wave hit the vessel, was first taken to Franklin Memorial Hospital and then on to Roanoke Memorial for treatment.
The accident occurred in the Blackwater arm of the lake.
by CNB