A boat wreck on Cedar Creek Lake late in the evening June 6 serves as reminder of how dangerous the water can be after dark.

A boat carrying three passengers struck Bird Island south of the bridge linking Seven Points to Gun Barrel City, resulting in serious injuries to a female passenger. Two other passengers suffered only minor injuries, but a helicopter transported the woman to a trauma hospital unit in Tyler.

The island, unofficially named Bird Island because it is a nesting spot for white egrets every year, lies south of Tom Finley Park, Coconut Island Bar & Grill and Aqua World.

The wreck occurred on the night of the 7th Annual Buddy Bash, a musical festival benefiting the American Cancer Society, but it is unclear whether the boat's passengers attended the party. Authorities have not released any information about the boat passengers' identities, who live in Kemp, or if alcohol consumption contributed to the accident.

Laurie Caves, the manager of Coconut, said the boat's passengers apparently had not been guests at the new restaurant the night of the accident. Caves said she was relieved to learn the boat's passengers had not left Coconut before the accident.

The first weekend of the Coconut's opening, a guest dived or jumped off of the deck into the water and injured his neck, according to a report in The Monitor.

Cedar Creek Lake can be blindingly dark at night, and the water is often deceptively shallow and conceals hidden objects like tree stumps. Over the years multiple boating accidents have occurred when boat drivers struck submerged objects in the water and bridge pilings and ran on to the ground in coves.