On May 21, 2012, I received a phone call from Sumner County School Resource Officer.  He asked about a possible boating accident with injuries that occurred on Sunday, May 20, 2012.  He stated an employee at the Hendersonville High School had read a prayer request for Victim on the internet.  The prayer request stated that he was injured in a boating accident.  I contacted the Sumner County Emergency Medical Services and Hendersonville Police Department to see if they had responded to a boating accident with injury call on Sunday, May 20.  Both departments stated they did not respond to any boating accident calls.  I located an address for Victim and a phone number.  No one was at the residence when I arrived at the house and the phone had been disconnected.  On May 25, 2012, I discovered Sumner EMS did respond to a boating accident and transported Victim to Vanderbilt Hospital. 

On May 24, 2012, Chief called me and asked if I was looking for Victim, possibly injured in a boating accident.  He stated that Victim was admitted to Vanderbilt Hospital.  I located Victim at Vanderbilt Hospital.  He was unable to speak to me at the time.  His mouth was wired shut and he had a trach tube in his throat.  I spoke with another person and victim’s father.  The other person observed and captured the accident on her phone.  An earthen ramp had been constructed on the shoreline on the Army Corps of Engineer''s property.  Using a personal water craft to tow the ski tube, people were jumping the ramp on the tube onto the lake.  Several witnesses stated that Victim and another person were riding on the tube.  Operator was operating the personal water craft tied to the tube.  Three ropes and a large bungy-style rope was used to attach the tube to the personal water craft.  When the personal water craft began to pull the tube, the bungy rope stretched and the tube began to move.  When the bungy rope stretched as far as it could, it broke at the end closest to the personal water craft.  As a result the bungy rope snapped back towards the two men on the tube, striking Victim in the head and upper chest, causing his injuries.

On June 21, 2012 I spoke with two others.  One person stated that someone asked her several times to use her PWC to pull people on the tube and off of the earthen ramp.  She refused several times, but eventually allowed the use of her PWC to pull people on the tube.  The PWC invovled in this accident was a black and yellow Sea Doo, HIN:  ZZN23869C404.  The other person was not aware that his PWC was invovled in this accident until I spoke with his wife on May 31, 2012.



I was never contacted by Sumner EMS, the operator of the PWC, nor the owner of the PWC to notify me of the accident.
GALLATIN                      