At approximately 2:00pm, on october 14, 2012, operator was taking a cruise on clubfoot creek in his 18 foot leader 180 cat.   one of operator's neighbors who lives on the creek remembers seeing operator pass by him and they both waved to each other.  Neighbor also stated he saw operator turn his vessel around after heading up the creek only a little bit further.
 
Operator then began to cruise back down the creek and collided with a dock while on plane at a speed of approximately 25 mph.  Operator has no memory of the accident other than waking up in the bottom of the vessel with several people trying to help him.  The last person to see operator before the collision was another resident living on the creek.  She remembers seeing operator operating his vessel near the docks as he headed down the creek.  She tried waving to him because of his close proximity to the docks, but operator was unresponsive.  subject stated that operator appeared almost "like a mannequin" and rigid.
 
No one saw the actual collision take place, but several residents heard the impact and said it sounded like an explosion.  The first people on the scene indicated that the bow of the vessel was struck up on top of the dock where it had impacted.  They found operator awake in the bottom of the vessel but non-responsive and it took several minutes to get him to respond to questions.  Operator was sent to vidant medical center in greenville, nc for treatment of his injuries which included various cuts, bruises, fractures, and a concussion.
 
I interviewed operator, and he believes his accident was the result of some kind of a medical event, possibly a seizure.  Operator takes medication for seizures and had taken his medication that morning.  Neither alcohol or drugs contributed to the accident.
 
The dock suffered minor damage.  Several light fixtures were knocked loose or off.  The wooden access ladder to the dock was destroyed and several planks on the walkway near the end of the dock were damaged.  Operator's vessel sustained much damage t the bow which was broken off across the entire front.  The center console and seat were ripped off their mounts and there were stress fractures at about mid ship just at the end of the hand rails on the gunwales.
 
It is my opinion that operator most likely suffered a seizure while operating the vessel, causing him to become unresponsive and to collide with the dock.

HAVELOCK                      