I was driving my 1989 MasterCraft Pro star 190 while towing a 4 person inflatable raft that is designed for towing up to 4 persons. I rented the raft (rope included) the morning of July 30, 2013 from Country Cove Cabins at about 9 AM – the place where I was renting a cabin at the time. I had already pulled 7 people riding 3 and 4 at a time without incident. At approximately 3:15 PM I was traveling downstream from Country Cove cabins on the Colorado river towing 4 adolescent males between the ages of 9 and 20 when I approached the North shoreline to prepare to make a 180 degree turn to go back towards the cabins. The boat speed was approximately 20 mph. I could see that the raft was nearing the dock and turned sharply in an attempt to pull the raft away from the dock. I misjudged the distance and the 20 year old on the right side of the raft struck the back of a boat that was in the dock, suspended from cables. Specifically, the boy’s right calf struck the propeller resulting in an approximately 6 inch cut below the knee. I stopped the boat and pulled the raft up to the boat and got the injured male off of the raft and into the boat while one of the others called 911 with my phone. I wrapped the injured leg in a t-shirt that I had on the boat and elevated the injured leg. I noticed an elderly woman standing in her back yard and asked her to call 911. I gave the 911 dispatcher my name and location relative to the cabins and nature of the injury. I also informed the 911 dispatcher that the lady in the back yard of her home could give them an address for my location. The boat drifted to the shore and 2 of the boys got off of the boat and were taken back to the cabin by the lady in the back yard. The EMT and officers arrived and removed the injured male from the boat using a back board. I tied the raft to the back of the boat and went back to the cabin. There were no drugs or alcohol involved in the accident.


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Kingsland