The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says two Harlan teens were injured in a boat/personal watercraft (PWC) collision over the weekend at Black Hawk Lake in Sac County. According to their initial investigation, 75-year-old Charles Lierman of Ankeny was traveling around 15 mph while pulling three of his grandkids on a tube at approximately 3:17 p.m. on Sunday. Liermann began a long, sweeping turn when he saw the PWC approaching from his left. The operator, 16-year-old Averie Thometz of Harlan, saw the pontoon and let off the throttle, resulting in a loss of steering control. The craft collided with the pontoon’s portside and ejected Thometz and passenger, 17-year-old Dakota Goede, also of Harlan. Sac County Emergency Medical Services transported both teens to Loring Hospital in Sac City for treatment of injuries. Thometz was later transferred to an Omaha hospital for corrective surgery on a lower leg fracture. An investigation into Sunday’s collision is ongoing.
