Public’s Help Sought in Search for Hit-and-Run Boater

The search continues for the boater responsible for a hit-and-run accident on Lake Hartwell over the weekend.

DNR Authorities are asking for the public’s help to identify the boat and where it might be located, according to DNR Law Enforcement officer Craig Fulghum.

“Anybody that can assist us in this would be very much appreciated,” he said. “We rely on the public’s help for a  multitude of things and this is another one where we’re asking for the public’s assistance. If they know who this (boater) could be, they can call Franklin County Sheriff’s office or the DNR Law Enforcement Gainesville office at 770-535-5499 and let us know.”

Fulghum said the hit and run happened Sunday at a time when the lake was particularly crowded.

“We had a hit and run Sunday around Poplar Springs,” he said. “A family on a pontoon was hit in the front by a pleasure boat, and they (pleasure boat) continued on their course without stopping. The only information we have is that it was blue and white pleasure craft, like a ski boat. There was a blond, female driving the boat with a male passenger.”

DNR authorities are searching for the pleasure craft, that Fulghum said would have sustained significant damage after the accident.

“Their left back side is where the damage occurred to their vessel, and there will probably be significant damage to that back fiberglass quarter panel because it hit the front right pontoon, which is solid aluminum,” Fulghum explained. “That’s a jagged point there so it’s not going to do real well against the pontoon. It’s going to tear it really bad. There were pieces of fiberglass that were visible (in the water) from that pontoon. So, whoever has that boat has significant damage to that end.”

With Hartwell Lake at full pool, more people are taking advantage of being on the lake this summer than ever and Fulghum said it’s important to be aware of other boaters.

“That’s why we tell people to watch what they’re doing, and pay close attention and slow down,” he advised. “There are just too many people in a confined area. If you’re going too fast you can start to cut a corner and there’s just not enough room to put you and another boat in the same spot. We were very lucky in that incident. There were multiple people in that pontoon, including small children.  It could have been progressively worse if they hit just a few feet more.”

Anyone with information on the owner of the hit-and-run boat or its whereabouts is asked to contact the DNR Law Enforcement office in Gainesville at 770-535-5499 or the Franklin or Stephens County Sheriff’s offices.