Charges Follow Jet Ski Crash Near Lake Crystal

MANKATO (AP) - The driver of a Jet Ski involved in an accident on a Blue Earth County lake is accused of fleeing after the crash that left a girl severely injured.

Authorities say the 16-year-old girl and another female were on an inner tube and were being pulled by the watercraft when it slammed into a dock on Loon Lake near Lake Crystal last Friday. The 16-year-old hit the dock, while the other female flew over it.

Sheriff's officials say the girl was in critical condition after the crash, but is improving.

Twenty-three-year-old Lance Jones, of Amboy, and another man left the scene in an SUV after the crash. Authorities say Jones punched a police dog in the head when he was found hiding in a wooded area. Jones says he pulled the injured girl from the water and called 911.