
INVESTIGATION:

Upon arriving at the Dangling Rope Marina I contacted Operator1, who told me that she had been involved in the accident.  I asked her to tell me what had happened and she stated that her father, step-mother and herself had been riding PWC's in the San Juan arm of the lake.  She stated that she was driving one PWC and her father was driving the other with her step-mother as a passenger on the PWC with her father.  Operator1 stated that she was about 50 yards behind her father driving and looking up at a hole in the rock wall.  She stated she did not know what happened next but that they had apparently crashed into each other.  I asked her to fill out a witness statement while I went to speak with the other Ranger.

I met Ranger behind the store at Dangling Rope and he informed me that some visitors had come to help at the scene of the accident and that one of the responders was a trauma surgeon.  Ranger stated that the doctor had determined that the injured female was deceased at the scene and had begun treatment on the injured male as they began transporting him toward Dangling Rope.  While in route toward Dangling Rope, doctor stated that Operator2 had also become deceased due to his injuries.

I spoke with Doctor and he told me that they had been flagged down approximately 12 miles up the San Juan arm and asked to help with some injured people who had been in an accident.  He stated several people from his camp responded to help.  At the scene he determined that victim2 was already deceased and was beyond help.  He stated that Operator2 was conscious but was not responding appropriately and had obvious signs and symptoms of a head injury.  As there were no life flights available with less than 1 hr ETA, Doctor and others put operator2 and Operator1 in their boat and began transporting them toward Dangling Rope for further treatment.  Doctor stated that near the mouth of the San Juan arm Operator2 had postured, had his pupil blow out and lost pulse and respirations.  They continued on to Dangling Rope Marina.

I spoke with Operator1 again and began setting up transportation for her with NPS to her camp in Rock Creek and then down to the Wahweap Marina.  She told me that her mother had just left Sante Fe NM and was driving to Page.  I told her that NPS would take her to her camp in Rock Creek to collect her dog and other items she may need and that I would bring their PWC's and their belongings on the PWC's back to Wahweap.  She told me that her father had his money and credit card in a waterproof container and asked me to bring those back to her.  I agreed to do so and left Dangling Rope Marina and responded to the accident scene.

At the accident scene NPS Rangers had recovered victim2 from the visitors who stayed at the scene.  An NPS Medic on scene told me that victim2 had some obvious internal injuries to her left hip as well as obvious signs of head trauma.  The NPS Rangers had found the waterproof containers.
