Senator from Alabama seriously injured in jet ski accident | Alabama

CRANE HILL, Alabama (WTVA) – An Alabama state senator was seriously injured in a jet ski accident.

The accident occurred on Thursday, July 4, at around 3:15 p.m. on Lewis Smith Lake near Crane Hill.

Two jet skis – one occupied by Republican Senator Garlan Gudger Jr., 49, and one by his son Garlan Gudger III, 21 – collided, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) announced.

Both men were wearing life jackets and were taken by rescue workers to a nearby dock.

A helicopter flew the senator to a hospital in Birmingham.

He underwent surgery to treat internal bleeding and other injuries, The Associated Press reported. His prognosis is good.

ALEA said the son was not seriously injured in the accident.

Gudger’s district includes Cullman, Marion and Winston counties. Marion County borders Itawamba County in Mississippi.

Lewis Smith Lake is located northwest of Birmingham.