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(File Photo) A boating crash in a shallow channel of Hubbard Creek Reservoir left one man dead and another injured Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 14, according to local authorities.
A boating crash in a shallow channel of Hubbard Creek Reservoir left one man dead and another injured, according to local authorities.
The crash happened Wednesday, Jan. 14 just before 4:30 p.m. in a narrow creek channel near Peeler’s Pier, a fishing and boat ramp area north of Highway 180 on the Stephens-Shackelford county line. Stephens County Game Warden Clifton Westbrook said the two men were traveling up the creek when their midsized boat struck something underwater and flipped.
According to a statement provided to the game warden who responded to the scene, James Cozart, 38, managed to swim back to passenger Roger Cross, 67, and pull him to shore. Cozart attempted CPR, but Cross did not respond according to the statement. Cozart then walked back to his vehicle and called dispatch.
Stephens County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Rose said the boat appeared to have hit a submerged stump in the shallow water, roughly three-quarters of the way up the creek according to Westbrook. The game warden said early indications suggest the crash was caused by the impact alone, not by wind or weather conditions.
Westbrook planned to conduct a full investigation early next week, including recovering the boat to determine exactly where it was struck.
The Texas Parks and Wildlife is leading the investigation into the official cause of the crash.
According to waterdatafortexas.org, the reservoir was 43.5% full the day of the crash and has been below 50% for several months. The prolonged low levels have exposed more submerged hazards in the reservoir’s shallow channels, including the area near Peeler’s Pier where the boat was flipped.
Peeler’s Pier was one of two boat ramps closed by the West Central Texas Municipal Water District in March 2024 due to dropping water levels–the first time since 2012 that ramps at the reservoir had been shut down. At the time of that closure, the lake measured 1,171.27 feet above mean sea level or 51% full.
As of Thursday, Jan. 15, the reservoir stood at 1,168.86 feet, or 43.5% full. A year earlier, levels were 1,170.10 feet, or 47.2% full.
