GRAND HAVEN, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – A Hudsonville couple was hospitalized following a boating accident in Lake Michigan south of Grand Haven on Saturday morning.
According to Ottawa County Sheriff’s Sergeant Bob Ruster, 46-year-old William Gibson was piloting a 35-foot powerboat along the waters “at a high rate of speed,” about two miles south of Grand Haven and a half-mile from shore, around 10:30 AM. The vessel then apparently hit a wave, causing Gibson and his 45-year-old wife Renae to be thrown violently into the dashboard. However, the couple, along with two other unnamed passengers who were not hurt, did not go into the waters.
Persons on a separate boat passing by were first to the scene and tended to the Gibsons before first responders arrived. After being taken to shore, Renae Gibson was eventually flown to Spectrum-Butterworth Hospital in critical condition with a severe head injury and several lacerations. William Gibson was taken to North Ottawa Community Hospital for treatment of a broken arm and a non-life threatening closed head injury.
The crash remains under investigation.
