Vessel 1 was traveling north up Econfina Creek when it struck an underwater object and the operator lost control of the steering.  Vessel 1 turned to the right and the occupant in the front of the boat was hit in the head by a tree branch.  Operator arrested for boating under the influence, operator refused to breath test.
Operator told me that she had been drinking.  I could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage and cigarettes coming from her.  Another gentleman in the area pulled her vessel out of the water for her.  I looked at the vessel and asked her about the accident.  She told me that she was going to the boat ramp on 388 when she hit a stump that jerked the controls for the motor out of her hand.  She saw that they were going towards a tree branch and told her friend to duck.  occupant was sitting backwards.  She did not duck in time and a branch hit her in the back of the head.  occupant then fell into the vessel, hitting her face on a seat and was unresponsive.  occupant's husband came up from behind them a few seconds later in a separate boat and jumped into the boat with his wife and operator.  operator was trying to take care of occupant and do CPR.  occupant's husbandthen drove the boat to the boat ramp.  I asked operator how fast she was going.  She was not sure about a specific MPH, but she said about half throttle.

     I inspected the vessel for damage and was unable to find anything.  There were scratches on the bottom of the vessel, but Operator said that it was from the trailer since it was missing a roller.  Operator was unable to find her whistle and her registration was expired.  There was a small amount of blood in the bow of the vessel from her friend on the port and starboard sides.  I asked Operator if she would write down a statement for me.  She stated, "Yes".  I read her Miranda Warning from prepared text.  She stated that she understood her rights and she would talk to me.  She then completed a sworn statement, (see attached).  I asked Operator if she could show me where the accident happened on a map.  She stated she could, and showed me on my computer, saying that it was 2 curves down the river.

     I asked Operator how much she had to drink.  She said 5 ½ beers and some of someone else's mixed drink. I asked her if she had any medical issues or if she was on any medication.  She said she was on Lortab and vitamin D for kidney trouble.  Operator then said she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday and she started drinking at 2:00 P.M.  

     I told Operator that I wanted to look at her eyes for the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus.  I asked her the pre-task questions from my instruction card.  She had equal pupil size and tracking.  She had lack of smooth pursuit, distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation and onset of nystagmus prior to 45 degrees.  

     The next task I conducted was to recite the alphabet without singing it.  She sang the alphabet.

     The third task I conducted was the Finger to Nose.  I had her sit on the tailgate of my truck.  I read the instructions and demonstrated the task.  She did not keep her head tilted back.  She did not touch the tip of her nose with her fingertip; she would touch the tip of her nose with the first bend of her finger.  She never brought her hand down, I had to tell her each time.

     The next exercise was the Palm Pat.  I read her the instructions and demonstrated the exercise.  I had to tell her how to start the exercise again.  She did not count out loud, I had to tell her again.  She was rolling her hands instead of patting them.

     I asked her to do the Walk and Turn, but she refused.

     I informed her that from the results of my field sobriety tasks I believed that she was operating her vessel under the influence of alcohol.  I asked her if she would submit to a breath test.  She stated, "No, everyone told me not to do it", before I arrived on scene.  I informed he
UNINCORPORATED