Mass. man injured while tubing on lake Boat pulling victim hit him in accident

WESTON – A Massachusetts man was in stable condition Thursday afternoon at a Houlton hospital after he was struck by a boat and injured Wednesday while tubing on Grand Lake in Weston.

Anthony Mangano, 24, of Greenwich, Conn., suffered cuts and abrasions from the high-powered boat’s hull and motor. He was being treated at Houlton Regional Hospital.

Two men, boat operator Timothy Patterson, 24, of Greenwich, Conn., and Robert Cayer Jr., 24, of Shrewsbury, Mass., the son of the boat’s owner, were pulling Mangano around the lake on a tube around 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Game Warden Sgt. Mike Marshall said Thursday.

Mangano was tethered by a rope to the 150 horsepower boat, Marshall said. The men were “cutting circles” and spinning Mangano around the lake’s surface.

At one point, the game warden, said, the boat cut a very sharp curve and the tube, with Mangano aboard, was suddenly in front of the boat and in its path.

Mangano was run over the boat.

Marshall said Mangano had cuts and abrasions on his back and shoulders. He was pulled from the water by his two friends, who summoned an ambulance from shore.

Marshall said an alcohol test was done on the men. No arrests had been made as of Thursday morning.

The incident happened on the lake between Butterfield Landing and Meeting House Point.

It is unknown whether Mangano was wearing a life jacket, Marshall said.

“I assume he was, because if he wasn’t, he may well have drowned,” the game warden said.