Breaking News - Posted: 7/22/02

One injured when personal watercraft collide

A day of fun on Forest Lake by friends from the Anoka area ended on a wrong note Sunday when two personal watercraft collided, sending one man to a Twin Cities hospital.

The boating accident was reported at 4:27 p.m. Sunday about 500 yards out on First Lake from Lakeside Memorial Park in downtown Forest Lake. Two of the friends on the outing were at the controls of Bombardier personal watercraft when they collided.

Nathan Paul Gessell, 17, of Andover, was pulling a tube carrying Daniel J. Skowronek, 18, of Ramsey, when Gessellís Bombardier struck broadside the second watercraft which was manned by Timothy M. Burlingane, 18, of Anoka.

The impact seriously injured Burlinganeís right leg and knocked the man into the water. He was rescued by Skowronek and Gessell and witnesses who were nearby in a pontoon boat, according to Forest Lake police.

The injured man was taken to shore by pontoon where he was airlifted by helicopter from the park to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale.

There were no other injuries in the crash. The accident remains under investigation by the Washington County Sheriffís Office.

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