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11 taken to hospitals after two boats collide north of Dallas

By the CNN Wire Staff
Several of the boat accident victims in Texas were flown to Dallas-area hospitals on Sunday.
Several of the boat accident victims in Texas were flown to Dallas-area hospitals on Sunday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Eight children are among the injured
  • NEW: One boat "T-boned" another, official says
  • NEW: Alcohol not believed to be a factor
RELATED TOPICS
  • Boating Accidents
  • Dallas
  • Texas

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(CNN) -- Eleven people, including eight children, were transported to hospitals on Sunday after two boats crashed near the Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge north of Dallas, Texas, authorities said.

The collision occurred around noon (1 p.m. ET) when one boat "T-boned" the other, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department spokeswoman Lydia Saldana told CNN. The accident involved two boats rented by the same group from a local watercraft rental company, Saldana said.

"From all indications, alcohol was not involved," Saldana said. "This was just a terrible accident."

The injured were taken to five area hospitals: Parkland Memorial Hospital, Cook Children's Medical Center, Harris Methodist Hospital, Denton Regional Medical Center and Medical Center of Lewisville.

Three of them were airlifted with "serious injuries," said Todd Jamison, emergency medical services chief for the Little Elm, Texas, Fire Department. The other eight were transported by ground, he said.

Saldana said a 10-year-old boy who suffered a head injury was the most seriously injured. The boy was undergoing surgery at Cook Children's Medical Center on Sunday night.

A total of 12 people were on the two boats, four people and eight children. One adult, the father of one of the children, was uninjured, according to Saldana.

The collision caused one of the boats to sink, Saldana said, and the other vessel was pulled from the water as the parks and wildlife department investigates the accident.

"This could have been so much worse if everyone had not been wearing a life jacket," she said.

The bridge is about 35 miles northwest of downtown Dallas.

CNN's Dave Alsup and Maggie Schneider contributed to this report.