Propeller lacerates woman

The Daily Inter Lake

A woman was in stable condition late Friday at Kalispell Regional Medical Center after she was cut by a spinning propeller in a boating accident Thursday on the Flathead River.

The woman was a passenger in a boat motoring down the river at about 30 mph when it hit a wake made by another boat just south of Sportsman's Bridge, according to Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Warden Capt. Lee Anderson.

The wake forced the boat's motor, which was trimmed up high, all the way to one side, which spun the boat's steering wheel and forced it into a tight turn.

The sharp change of direction threw two adults into the water, leaving only an 11-year-old on board. One of the adults, a woman, was cut on the arm and scalp by the spinning propeller.

The other adult thrown from the boat, a man, rescued the woman and eventually talked the child still on board through slowing the boat down. The boat had been going in circles at full throttle. After getting the woman back onto the boat, the man took her to shore where a helicopter airlifted her to the hospital.

The names of the people on board have not been released. The accident is still under investigation, Anderson said.