On 09/28/2013, at about 7:48 AM, I, State Game Warden, received a call from a Comal County SO Patrol Sergeant regarding a boating accident that had occurred the previous evening.  The accident was reported to have been the grounding of a boat on the shore of Jacob’s Creek Park.  Jacob’s Creek Park is located on the north shore of Canyon Lake, Comal County, Texas. 
Sgt. reported to me that officers had been out the previous evening in response to 911 calls from the boat’s occupants requesting assistance.  Responding officers found the boat’s owner / operator to be intoxicated.  The boat owner / operator was subsequently arrested for Public Intoxication and Resisting Arrest. 
I responded to the location and observed a red and white boat, TX 4539 KE, out of the water and resting on the shoreline.  A short time after my arrival, one of the passengers of the boat arrived at the location.   I briefly interviewed Passenger as to what happened.  Passenger stated that Operator, the boat owner, was operating his boat back towards boat ramp 17, where they had launched, from the area of boat ramp 1.  Passenger estimated the time of the accident to be about 9:30 PM.  Passenger estimated that the speed of the boat at the time of the accident to be about 20 mph.  Passenger stated that he believed Operator to have consumed (6) or more 12 oz. cans of beer.  Passenger described the surroundings to be very dark.  Passenger stated that the boats navigation lights were on and functioning.  After the boat ran aground, Passenger stated that there were no injuries to any of the occupants.  Passenger stated that after some time had passed, a person from the company SEA-TOW arrived at their location and attempted to recover the boat from the shore.  The SEA-TOW boat was able to turn the grounded boat, but not pull the grounded boat back in the water before an equipment failure occurred.
After I spoke with Passenger, I documented the grounded boat with photographs and video. These items will be included with this report.
I then traveled to Comal County Jail.  At the jail, myself and Game Warden were able to interview Operator about the accident.  Operator stated that he was the operator of the boat at the time of the accident.  Operator described the night as being very dark with limited visability.  Operator stated that he believed the time of the accident to have been about 11:30 PM.  Operator stated that he had consumed about (4) 12oz. cans of beer while on the lake.  Operator stated that he had launched his boat in the late evening, before dark, from boat ramp 17 and had traveled to the area of boat ramp 1.  Operator stated that he was the way back to boat ramp 17 when the accident occurred when things “didn’t look right”.  Operator stated he had just asked one of his passengers to assist as a lookout when he ran aground.  Operator estimated his speed to be 15 to 20 mph.
I determined based on my observations at the accident site and the comments and information provided by Passenger and Operator that Operator was operating his boat in a negligent manner prior to the accident for the following reasons:
- Operator was operating at a speed that was not prudent given the conditions present on the lake.
- Operator had consumed alcohol prior to the accident.  Operator was subsequently arrested for an alcohol related offense after the accident.
Hancock