CULLMAN COUNTY, Ala. — Three people are dead and three others were injured after a multi-boat crash on an Alabama lake.
The accident happened Wednesday morning during a major league fishing tournament.
What started as a high-stakes fishing tournament turned into a rescue operation early Wednesday on Smith Lake in Cullman County, Alabama.
Cullman County Emergency Management Agency and other first responders rushed to the Miller Bottom area.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency confirmed that Joey Broom, 58, from Altoona, Alabama was killed when the boat he was riding on was hit.
“He went around that point, and when he went around the corner of that point, the boat was there, and by looking at it, neither one of them saw the other one,” witness Allen Johnson said. “The boat that he hit was kind of at an angle. His boat went across the, the boater, the driver went across the front of the boat, across the center console, but it went airborne.”
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Officials with the Major League Fishing Tournament confirmed the accident involved one of their anglers, Flint Davis of Leesburg, Georgia, during day two of the Tackle Warehouse Invitational.
The organization released a statement saying they are cooperating with law enforcement and offering thoughts and prayers to all those affected.
“This is one of the top levels of bass fishing, so this didn’t happen to inexperienced people-- both drivers of both boats are extremely experienced. One of them has fished thousands of lakes, you know thousands of days. The other is actually a boat captain,” Johnson said.
Fishermen like Johnson said accidents like these serve as stark reminders that this could have happened to anyone.
“It gives us a wake up call every time something happens. I’ve got a 17-year-old that does this for a living, so I am scared every time he goes on the water, and you can preach, preach, preach safety but accidents do happen,” he said.
Authorities said the other two people who were killed are a 44-year-old man from Cullman, Alabama, and a 62-year-old Mississippi man.
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