searched, but could not find an article on this story yet. i received a call from a good friend today who was visiting his parents at their house on lake cherokee this weekend (we grew up in longview).

he and his dad were out on their boat dock last night when they heard a loud collision from the lake. they decided to jump in their boat to see what happened and came up on a scene where some of my other friend's dads had just arrived in their boats.

a boat with 8 passengers was anchored in the middle of the lake after dark with their lights off. another boat, being driven by a 17 year old kid hit them going full speed (not his fault, no way he could have seen them until it was too late).

i grew up with 2 of the passengers on the boat, possibly more. the reason i know that i know the 2 of them? one is in the hospital having his skull drilled into by surgeons due to brain swelling. the other is missing. when i spoke to my friend this afternoon, he was watching as they sent out their second dive team trying to find his body.

chris (who's body they are trying to find) was born a twin. his twin brother corey died a few years ago. corey was in a flat bottom boat that was tied to a truck being pulled through a field at high speeds and fell out and died. completely senseless, i know. two years later it appears (outside of a complete miracle) that chris has also died in a freak boating accident.

i didn't really know either very well after jr. high or so, but i can't imagine what their parents are going through right now. they were twin boys and their parents only children, and both are now dead within a few years of each other. each died way too early in life both being in their mid 20s.

i posted this so those that read it can lift up prayers for the parents.

[This message has been edited by ruddyduck (edited 6/22/2008 6:55p).]

prayers for sure.

3+, it turns out i know the guy driving the boat that was hit. he is the younger brother of a girl i grew up with. i still remember him as a little kid. bad news all around.

real sorry to hear that, bro.

go be strong for their families if that is possible.

prayers again.

Still nothing on news-journal.com. Good work guys.

Prayers.

http://www.news-journal.com/search/content/news/stories/stories/2008/06/23/06232008_drowning.html

quote:

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chris (who's body they are trying to find) was born a twin. his twin brother corey died a few years ago. corey was in a flat bottom boat that was tied to a truck being pulled through a field at high speeds and fell out and died. completely senseless, i know. two years later it appears (outside of a complete miracle) that chris has also died in a freak boating accident.

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I remember this happening - I know how said it is/was for this to happen and it sucks that it did happen - but this is pure dumbassery.

[This message has been edited by Adam P Jones (edited 6/23/2008 1:51p).]

I grew up with the kid driving the boat that was hit, it is a terrible story and has constantly been in the back of my mind since it happened. From what I heard he was arrested at the time for intoxication manslaughter. I didn't know the guy who died or the other injured, but T&P for everyone involved.

EDIT: I just found out that he wasn't arrested, he passed a sobriety test and the other guy driving the boat that hit them fled the scene and was later brought back by his father. He is the one that will likely face charges. The guy that was driving the boat that got hit is in really bad shape mentally right now, as I'm sure anybody would be. They also found the body today. T&P for everyone, what a tragic situation.

[This message has been edited by aggieforester05 (edited 6/23/2008 6:38p).]

Update, the guy that was in a comma came out of it yesterday, he is still in bad shape, but he is out of the comma and not paralyzed, so that's a start.

I'm confused. Why would the guy driving the boat that got hit be charged with manslaughter?

From what I read the boat was anchored and stationary.

That's what I was told by friends, but I found out since then that was not the case. They told me he was drinking and idling through down the lake with no lights and got hit by a boat hauling ass. Turns out it was not true, even the news article isn't right. They were not in a pontoon boat, they were in a wakeboard boat sitting stationary, the other boat came around the corner and hit it head on. The other boat didn't stop and actually almost cut the wakeboard boat in half with it's propeller. The kid that hit them kept driving, went home and his father returned him later. The guy that was driving the boat that got hit was knocked unconcious, but when he came to, people in the boat were injured badly and he actually managed to start the boat and drive it to shore. From what I've heard he is in the clear legally (he passed a sobriety test and actually did have his lights on) and the guy that hit them and kept going is potentially facing charges. It's just a very very terrible tragedy.

If that set of facts is true, the kid driver is absolutely screwed. Any word if alcohol was involved on his part?

I won't be surprised at all to find that the boat that was hit was the one that had any issues with alcohol and/or drugs on board.

The boat that was hit did have alcohol onboard and the driver was drinking, but he passed a sobriety test and was not arrested. From what I've heard about the boat that hit them, it was a 17 year old kid and he was not drinking.

Thats horrible ruddy...is it anybody I'd know??

any updates on this, I grew up in longview, left in '99. heard about the accident but never heard any names, all I heard it was some Pine Tree alums.

[This message has been edited by AggieGunslinger (edited 7/3/2008 8:38p).]

No, nothing yet, I've heard several different versions of the story and I don't know what's true and what's not. I think as of right now, either party could be in trouble. The lake was still a blast last weekend, but there was a lot of police presence They weren't out arresting people left and right, but they kicked everyone off the island about 3 O'clock on Friday.

was out for the 4th of July at a Party with a bunch of old foogies. They know the Gamewarden, Green i think was his last name of Smith County. He was out on lake Palestine, he stopped by for some food along with his helper or whatever, an Ag, and he was tellin us about what happened. From what he said it was the boat that was stationary that is in trouble for drinking and not having its lights off.

Said the only good thing about the accident was that when the boat was "launched" off the other the propeller got hung on the back and came off. Would have done much more damage.

[This message has been edited by A&M Iceman (edited 7/9/2008 6:39p).]

UPDATE:

just got a phone call from the same friend who originally brought me the bad news. the mom and dad of these two brothers, along with two of their nephews (young boys @5 yrs each) and grandma were driving back to baytown where they currently live. they had a car swerve in front of them and the dad, who was driving the car swerved and then over-corrected flipping the car 4 times.

one nephew was thrown out of the car and broke ribs and his wrist. thankfully, he is going to be ok.

grandma was also thrown from the vehicle and passed away on the scene.

these are good people, and i can't understand why all of this is happening to this family. please pray for the mother. she has lost both twin sons and now her mother all in tragic accidents in a very short amount of time.

Wow...How terrible T&P

Man that is very bad stuff.


I feel sorry for their whole family.