The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is investigating a fatal boating collision that occurred on South Holston Lake on Saturday night.
According to TWRA officers, around 9:45 p.m. Saturday a bass boat carrying two people struck a pillar of the Highway 421 bridge. The collision resulted in the death of the passenger and left the operator with serious injuries.
The operator was airlifted to Johnson City Medical Center, while the passenger, Ronald E. Taylor, 72, of Virginia, was pronounced dead at the scene. The medical examiner will be conducting an autopsy.
The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, Sullivan County Rescue Squad, Bristol Life Saving Crew, and a local volunteer fire department assisted in the rescue.
This incident marks the 20th boating-related fatality on Tennessee’s waterways in 2025. The investigation remains ongoing.
