Senator Garlan Gudger of Alabama injured in jet ski accident at Smith Lake

From Tribune staff reports

CULLMAN COUNTY – Sen. Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, was injured in a jet ski accident on Smith Lake on Thursday, July 4. Gudger was flown by helicopter to UAB Hospital in Birmingham, where he remains in intensive care but is reportedly in stable condition after undergoing surgery to treat internal bleeding.

The incident occurred near the Trident Marina, according to several witnesses. Further details about the accident have not yet been released.

“While at UAB, he underwent brief surgery to treat internal bleeding and sustained other injuries that are being monitored by doctors,” the senator’s office said in an update. “The two-term senator is currently in intensive care following his surgery, but his doctors believe the prognosis for his recovery is good.”

Gudger is in his second term after upsetting incumbent Republican Senator Paul Bussman in 2018.

“To everyone across the state who has supported our family with their prayers for recovery and comfort, we feel your support and know that God holds Garlan in his healing hands,” the senator’s wife, Heather Gudger, said in a statement. “Anyone who knows Garlan knows that he is a strong, tough and energetic man who will recover from these injuries and continue to serve the citizens of his district while promoting the conservative Alabama values ​​that so many of us hold dear.”