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PARKERSBURG — A 34-year-old female was flown by medical helicopter to the Charleston Area Medical Center following a jet ski accident Saturday evening. Although the woman’s condition has not been released, Capt. Eric Taylor with the Parkersburg Fire Department said she reported she could not feel her lower extremities.
The collision, which happened around 7:40 p.m. along the Little Kanawha River between Erickson Field and the Old Corral Restaurant, was between two jet skis who had been in the water together, according to Taylor.
It took responders until 9:20 p.m. to get the patient into the medical helicopter.
“When we are dealing with a possible back injury it is even harder to get the patient out of the water without causing further damage,” said Capt. Jim Tracewell with the Parkersburg Fire Department, who went on one of the boats to the collision site.
The Parkersburg Fire Department, Parkersburg Police Department, St. Joseph’s Ambulance Services and the West Virginia Department of Natural Resources responded to the scene, and according to Tracewell, multiple citizens in the water offered responders use of their personal boats to reach the wreck.
Photo by Madeline Scarborough Parkersburg Police, Parkersburg Fire Department and the Department of Natural Resources responded to the Little Kanawha River Saturday evening following a jet ski collision.
Taylor wanted to remind everyone who goes out in the water to operate their water crafts safely and have safety flotation devices available at all times.
Madeline Scarborough can be reached at mscarborough@newsandsentinel.com.