HARPERS FERRY - A single-vessel accident Tuesday on the Mississippi River sent a woman from Oelwein to the hospital with unspecified injuries.

Edna Shields, 68, was thrown from a flat-bottom fishing boat driven by her husband, John Shields, 74, when the craft hit a submerged object.

The collision knocked the motor handle from John Shields' hand, sending the boat into a spin that ejected his wife. The boat then ran over the victim, cutting her with the prop.

Edna Shields was taken by Harpers Ferry Rescue officials to Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin and later airlifted to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, Wis.

The incident happened at about 2:15 p.m. in the McDonald Slough area near Harpers Ferry.

Conservation officer Burt Walters, who is investigating, described Edna Shields' injuries as non-life threatening. He also noted the couple had life jackets in the boat but were not wearing them at the time of the accident.

Walters said the outcome could have been worse.

"She was a very lucky woman," he said.