1 missing, 2 injured in boating accident on Lake Tyler

SMITH COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) – Authorities are searching for a man who fell into Lake Tyler after a boating accident, and two women have been hospitalized as a result of the incident.

At about 6 a.m. Saturday morning, a fishing boat coming around the corner of a canal on the lake collided with a flat-bottomed boat, according to Tyler Police Officer Andy Erbaugh. There was one man on the fishing boat and three people on the flat-bottomed boat.

Authorities were called to the scene by a game warden. When they arrived, they found one woman with life-threatening injuries and one with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities attempted to perform CPR on the critically injured woman and both were taken to nearby hospitals. The third person on the flat-bottomed boat was a man who is now missing.

Erbaugh said the man from the fishing boat remained on site and is cooperating with authorities.

Tyler police, Smith County ESD personnel and Longview authorities are assisting in the search while Texas game wardens are leading the investigation. At around 10:30 a.m., Erbaugh said divers were preparing to search the lake for the missing man.

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