Boat prop injures man on Lake James

LAKE JAMES, Ind. (WANE) - A Michigan man pulling tubers with a boat on Lake James Sunday suffered injuries after his right leg struck the watercraft's moving propeller.

The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. when Gregory H. Smith, 50, of Dewitt, Michigan was in the first basin of Lake James.  The ropes attached to the tubes and the boat became tangled and Smith went to the rear deck of the boat to fix the problem.  When he got the ropes untangled, Smith threw them in the water and told a passenger to "give the boat some gas."

The boat moved forward and Smith fell off the back and his right leg struck the moving propeller.

Another boat was flagged down to tow Smith's boat to the docks at the Potawatami Inn at Pokagon State Park.

Smith was treated on the scene by EMS and Fire Rescue personnel before being taken to Cameron Hospital in Angola.  He was then taken to Parkview Hospital in Fort Wayne for further treatment.