On June 30, 2012 at approximately 3:45 pm the family were unloading their jet ski at a private boat ramp on Inks Lake. Operator, age 21 and diagnosed with autism but  classified as highly-functional, was sitting on the jet ski at the bank and waiting for her sister. The jet ski drifted from the shoreline due to the wind. Operator started the vessel and began to maneuver it at normal headway speed. She found herself about 100 yards from the boat ramp and among some rocks. She then accelerated the jet ski up on plane and headed toward several covered boat slips. She did not attempt to release the throttle or swerve to avoid collision. The bow of the jet ski struck a corner support pole (3 inch diameter) of a boat dock/slip, slightly off-center. This point of impact caused a six inch deep rip into the hull. Operator was thrown at impact into the outboard motor of a pontoon boat that was hanging in a slip. She suffered severe head trauma especially to her nose, cheek bones and lost most of her front upper and lower teeth. She sustained a laceration on her right scalp above the right ear and three lacerations to her right leg from impacting the prop. The jet ski had spun port side and wedged under the pontoon boat. Operator was in the water without a PFD and unconscious. She was tended by her father and sister within seconds and placed on the docks lower platform. EMS and Parks & Wildlife emerged on scene within 10 minutes of the accident.
Buchanan Dam                  