LAKE TEXOMA – Two men from western Oklahoma were killed following a boat malfunction on Saturday morning.
Clifford Hines, 67, of Ponca City, Okla., was driving a 1999 Falcon striper boat on Lake Texoma between Wood Island and Sanders Island View area in Marshall county at about 7:30 a.m., according to a report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. His brothers – Devered Hines, 80, of Cordell, Okla., and Eddie Hines, 62, of Duncan, Okla. – were passengers on the boat.
The boat was traveling southeast when the steering malfunctioned causing the boat to turn sharp to the left which ejected all three occupants out of the vessel. The boat began circling all three occupants, striking all three.
Clifford Hines was rescued by witnesses in another vessel. He was transported to AllianceHealth in Durant with head injury and treated and released.
Both passengers were recovered by Enos Fire Department and pronounced dead at the scene by a medical examiner.
The cause of the accident was equipment malfunction, according to the report. None of the boat’s occupants were wearing flotation devices.
The OHP Marine Enforcement Division was assisted by the Enos Fire Department, Madill Police Department and Marshall County Sheriff’s Office .