Lake Sam Rayburn boating accident witnesses sought

NACOGDOCHES — As the investigation of a weekend boating accident that severed the leg of a 16-year-old Lufkin girl progresses, law enforcement officials said, details of the accident have become clearer.

Charles Clayton Gilstrap, 24, of Lufkin, was arrested for intoxicated assault after driving a boat that injured Ashton LaMar on Lake Sam Rayburn Saturday afternoon.

According to Nacogdoches County Sheriff Thomas Kerss, authorities believe LaMar was floating on an inner tube tethered to a bass boat, which had stopped for a moment when Gilstrap's boat hit LaMar. Authorities are still seeking witnesses.

"If people who directly witnessed the accident have not given reports, it would be helpful if they came forward ... if they actually witnessed the incident, if they saw the boat have any contact with the individual," Kerss said.

While stopped near Shirley Creek — an area near Etoile on the northern section of Sam Rayburn — at about 5:15 p.m. Saturday, LaMar was probably lying in the inner tube when Gilstrap, who was driving a large "cigarette boat" hit her, Kerss said. The rope that ran from the bass boat to LaMar's may have become tangled and pulled her leg into the prop. Friends dragged LaMar to an island near the crash site.

According to LaMar's family, the girl's leg was severed. Her arm was broken and the bone was pinned together in surgery at Nacogdoches Memorial Hospital.

After Gilstrap's boat hit LaMar, the watercraft did not stop, according to Kerss. Authorities were unsure if Gilstrap knew that he had hit anyone, and "his level of intoxication certainly didn't help him any," Kerss said Sunday.

LaMar's mother, Milissa Heath, said she believed Gilstrap was aware of what had happened, and he fled the scene.

A Texas Parks and Wildlife official arrested Gilstrap at the Shirley Creek Marina. Nacogdoches County deputies were also dispatched to the scene, which was slightly chaotic, Kerss said. Rumors have circulated that a fight nearly occurred at the marina between parties involved in the accident, but the story is just a rumor to deputies, too.

"While tensions were high, there were no altercations that took place in front of deputies," Kerss said.

Gilstrap was arraigned with a $25,000 bond, and his attorney, Tim James, bonded him out at 1:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Nacogdoches County jail records.

The state agency that is investigating the accident, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, would not release any information on the accident.