Recovery for man hurt in boating crash on Arkansas lake expected to last months, family says

The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn DAMAGED VESSEL: Dillon Abernathy's damaged bass boat was parked outside of the Garland County Sheriff's Department on Thursday so that it could be examined by investigators.
The Sentinel-Record/Mara Kuhn DAMAGED VESSEL: Dillon Abernathy's damaged bass boat was parked outside of the Garland County Sheriff's Department on Thursday so that it could be examined by investigators.

A man critically hurt in a boating accident on an Arkansas lake will likely spend four months recovering from his injuries, his family said.

The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs reports that Dillon Abernathy, 29, was hurt July 8 while operating a bass boat that was struck by a pontoon boat.

Abernathy spent four nights in intensive care for two broken ribs, a lacerated liver and cuts on his face, according to the newspaper. He was hospitalized two more nights for observation.

Doctors had been concerned about possible internal bleeding.

The collision happened around 9:30 p.m. that night as Abernathy was heading back home from a sunset cruise on Lake Hamilton near Sam’s Pizza, 401 Burchwood Bay Road, in Hot Springs.

Abernathy told the Sentinel-Record that he had shut down his boat to adjust his lighting, take a photo of the sunset and send some text messages.

Shortly after restarting the engine of his boat and traveling toward the right side of the lake, the man saw a pontoon boat and “didn’t have any time to react,” he said.

Authorities found Abernathy lying on the floor of the party barge that had hit his boat.

Read the full story from the Sentinel-Record here.

Information for this article was contributed by Grace Brown of the Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs.

Upcoming Events