Two boys, both aged 9, were injured in an accident on Watab Lake in St. Wendel Township. The emergency call was received at 4:42 p.m. Saturday, July 8. A St. Joseph man was arrested in connection with the accident.
According to a report by the Stearns County Sheriff’s Department, the boys were riding on an inner tube pulled by a jet ski when the inner tube slammed into a dock at the lake’s edge.
The operator of the jet ski was Ryan James Willis, 42, of St. Joseph, according to the report. He has been charged with two counts of felony criminal vehicular operation and a misdemeanor DWI.
The names of the two children have not been released. One of them suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was rushed by Mayo Ambulance service to the St. Cloud Hospital. The other juvenile, who suffered injuries described as “serious,” was flown by North Air Ambulance service to Children’s Hospital, Minneapolis. The names of the two boys have not been released.
The report stated the accident is under investigation and that alcohol is believed to be a factor.
