Calls involving a severely injured woman, a sinking boat and a child in a hot vehicle arrived within minutes.
BEAR LAKE COUNTY, Idaho — Deputies and emergency crews responded to several urgent calls near Bear Lake within minutes of one another, including a boating accident that left a woman with life-changing injuries.
The most serious call involved a woman in her mid-30s who was tubing Saturday when she was struck by a propeller on the boat towing her, according to the Bear Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The woman suffered injuries that resulted in the amputation of both legs.
Bystanders on the beach applied tourniquets before medics arrived. The sheriff’s office said their actions controlled the woman’s bleeding and ultimately saved her life. She was flown from the area and remained hospitalized in stable condition.
While authorities handled the medical emergency, deputies were also dispatched to a boat that was sinking with passengers aboard. Everyone on the vessel was safely removed from the water, and no injuries connected to that call were reported.
Deputies also responded to a child locked inside a vehicle as temperatures rose above 90 degrees. The child was removed safely, according to the sheriff’s office. Officials did not release the child’s age or say how long the child had been inside the vehicle.
Another call involved a serious vehicle crash in which one person was airlifted to a hospital. Authorities did not immediately provide that person’s condition or additional information about the collision.
The cluster of emergencies placed responders at several scenes during a busy summer period at Bear Lake, a recreation destination spanning the Idaho-Utah border. Officials did not say how many deputies or medical teams were involved in the responses.
The sheriff’s office credited bystanders and medics with providing immediate care to the injured woman before she could be flown to a hospital. Investigators have released few details about the boating accident beyond saying that she was tubing when the propeller struck her.
All passengers from the sinking boat and the child from the locked vehicle were brought to safety. The boating investigation remained active, and authorities had not announced whether any citations or other enforcement action would result.
Author note: Last updated July 16, 2026.