On 07-16-11  I  responded to a boat accident on the Kaskaskia River approximately 5 1/2 miles s/e of Germantown.  After interviewing several subjects on scene I report the following:  
Operator was operating her PWC upstream on the Kaskaskia River with her passenger.  At approximately 8:05 pm she attempted to maneuver her PWC around a bend in the river.  While making the turn Operator noticed a large tree in her immediate path.  Operator advised that she attempted to abruptly make a turn to miss the tree.  Upon making this turn she lost control of the watercraft.  The result of this action caused both she and her passenger to be ejected from the watercraft.  Operator advised that she landed in the river and upon regaining her bearings began to search for Victim to see if he was ok.  A few seconds later she realized that Victim had been thrown into the tree and was injured.
I spoke with EMT shortly after victim had been evacuated to St. Louis University Hospital.  EMT told me that victim had the following injuries: Broken jaw, Broken upper left leg, Punctured lung, 4" laceration on his chin, 1.5" laceration around the right side of his nose and a 6" laceration on top of his head.
  I spoke with Operator the following  day to check on Victim''s status and asked her how she was doing.  She advised that Victim had been placed on a ventilator and was in intensive care at the hospital.  She told me that she was still extremely upset about the accident.  At this time I gave her my work cell number and told her that she could call me if I could be of any further assistance.

End of report.
Germantown                    