DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. — Three people were injured and taken to the hospital following a boat crash on High Rock Lake.
NC Wildlife is investigating the crash. It happened Saturday around 2 p.m. near Woods Island across from High Rock Marina.
An NC Wildlife official said a bass boat got out of a no wake zone, sped up, and didn't see a pontoon boat. The bass boat crashed into the pontoon boat, going up and over the vessel.
NC Wildlife said three people who were on the pontoon were taken to a hospital in Winston-Salem for their injuries.
The operator of the pontoon, Ronald Gregg Carrick, had a broken cheek and other cuts after being thrown from the boat. He is out of the hospital.
Vicki Norman, Ronald Gregg Carrick's sister, was also thrown from the boat and suffered a broken pelvis, broken vertebrae, and other injuries like a cut to her leg. She's expected to have a longer road to recovery but is expected to be OK, officials said.
The siblings' mother, Jane Carrick was in the back of the pontoon and was pinned down by the railing of the boat. She had bumps and bruises from the crash.
Family member Heidi Carrick said her family lives right by the lake. She said Vicki Norman was in town for a baby shower, so the three decided to go for an afternoon rid on the pontoon to check out new properties that have been built.
Heidi Carrick said both her family's boat and the bass boat saw each other earlier on the water, but lost sight of each other a bit later.
Officials said later that afternoon, the bass boat was speeding up after a no wake zone and didn't see the pontoon.
"His boat was tilted up so unfortunately, he couldn't see over it and so this is what happened," said Heidi Carrick. "By no means do we hold any grudges, we you know in our hearts they have already been forgiven, and we know that they are going through it just as bad as we are."
Despite the injuries, the family is okay and grateful the outcome wasn't much worse.
"God put his hand down and we also believe that maybe our grandfather, our papaw, their father and their husband, maybe had a hand in that as well just telling them that please, they're not ready to come because they still have a lot here to do especially for the Lord so we're very grateful," Heidi Carrick said. "To put that in perspective for me is, I could be planning three funerals today, this would've wiped out a whole entire family and would've really devastated a lot of us, these are members of our community, good church going people and we know that God stepped in because there's no way they would could've survived this."
Heidi Carrick works at a marina near the lake and she handles pontoon rentals. She said this is giving her another reason to remind boat drivers to be aware of your surroundings.
"It's part of my job to express the safety and the attentiveness that you need, but now I have even more of a reason to tell them, you know that family last week, that was mine, or whenever you know, so and just please be careful because anything, it can change in an instant," she said.
NC Wildlife said neither alcohol nor drugs were factors in the crash. They said a father and son were in the bass boat and were not hurt.
The family said they are extremely thankful for those people who jumped in to help save them.
Keith Shewcrow heard the crash and jumped in to help along with many others.
PHOTOS: 3 injured after boat crash on High Rock Lake
“That family has some angels looking over them for sure,” Shewcow said.
Neighbors said the accident happened with the bass boat crashing into the pontoon near Abbotts Creek.
“We found a bass boat had run up on the side of a pontoon two people are in the water an elderly female with a dog,“ said Ryan Story alongside his wife Erica.
The Storys were just a few of many who sprang into action, helping those in the boat crash on Saturday.
Erica Story is a Registered Nurse and said she saw people in need and had to help. “My training took over I saw people that were hurt that needed assistance and all my training kicked in, adrenaline kicked in, and that’s all she wrote,“ she said.
The Storys along with many others did everything they could to help the crash victims, from bringing water to people on the lake assisting to working hard to cut the engine of the boat.
Ryan Story explained, “it does take first responders time. They are not always out on the lake. If we, as citizens, just regular people out here on the lake, if we can react and help any way we can then that’s huge until first responders can get on scene.“
The three people who were on the pontoon were taken to the hospital but expected to be okay.
The neighbors that helped are left with a gratifying feeling, knowing they saved lives.
“It's a great feeling it’s a great feeling when people are in need everybody comes together and they do what they’re supposed to do and they make it easier on everybody else,“ Erica Story said.
North Carolina Wildlife Commission is handling the crash and investigation.
The sheriff's office said wildlife, fire, rescue, emergency medical services, and sheriff's office units all responded to the crash.
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