2 injured in separate incidents on Commerce Township lakes

COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Michigan. – On July 4, two people were injured in two separate incidents on the lakes of Commerce Township.

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said the two incidents occurred within minutes of each other on North Commerce Lake and Union Lake. The search and rescue team was on site at both incidents.

Injury at North Commerce Lake

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said the Commerce Township Fire Department Search and Rescue team and paramedics were called to North Commerce Lake at 5:57 p.m. on July 4, 2024, for an unconscious man floating in the water.

According to officials, a 20-year-old Commerce Township man was on a pontoon boat near a sandbar in the lake when he fell into about 4 feet of water and hit his head on the bottom of the lake.

Other people on the pontoon noticed that he was unresponsive and pulled him out of the water. He was taken to a nearby hospital and is being treated for serious injuries.

According to officials, he was not wearing a life jacket and alcohol probably played a role.

Crash at Union Lake

The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office said a personal watercraft collided with a 24-foot pontoon boat.

The accident occurred on July 4, 2024 at approximately 5:43 p.m. on Union Lake. A 32-year-old Waterford Township man fell from a personal watercraft that continued traveling an unknown distance before striking the side of the pontoon boat.

A 29-year-old woman from Waterford Township was lying on her back at the stern of the boat, her feet in the area where the watercraft struck the boat. She sustained minor injuries and declined treatment at the scene.

Alcohol does not seem to be a factor.