Salem Man Suffers Broken Neck in Kite Tube Accident on Detroit Lake

The doctor at Santiam Hospital who treated 24-year-old Jessie Howard said that he is lucky not to be paralyzed.

Photo courtesy: Sportstuff, Inc.

(DETROIT) - Kite tubes -they look exciting and fun but after a weekend at Detroit Lake, James Howard and his son Jessie, think differently.

"These things are deadly," says James Howard, who operated the boat.

"You just don't have any control and no time to respond."

The tube lifted off the water about three or four feet, but twisted sharply, ejecting Jessie out of the tube.

"I'd been riding the tube all morning, and on the last run all of a sudden it shot me up and threw me 30 to 40 feet off the tube," recalls Jessie Howard, the 24-year-old tube rider. "I remember being conscious but couldn't move, and in extreme pain."

Jessie suffered a broken neck with a vertebra fracture that split down the middle and also suffered a broken rib.

"The Doctor said I was lucky not to be paralyzed. We don't want anyone else to get hurt on thesethings."

The accident occurred on July 16th, just three days after the manufacturer, Sportstuff, Inc., recalled the Wego kite tube from the market.

The Marine Board issued an advisory about the dangers of this particular brand of kite tube on July 10th, in light of a Consumer Products Safety Commission advisory and reports of injuries and fatalities in other states.

Boaters who have Wego kite tubes are urged to contact Sportstuff, Inc. and return their kite tubes for other products up to the same value.

For more information visit www.boatoregon.com