I was notified on August 9, 2011 of a boat accident that occurred on August 7th. I began my investigation by calling all parties involved and setting up an appointment time to get their statements, have them fill out a PWD 0311- Boating Accident Report, and inspect and take pictures of the vessels involved. 
     Vessel #1 was the vinyl raft that was owned and oared by Operator1. He claims (see attached statements and PWD 0311 reports) that he and his girlfriend were at anchor not far off the bank and at the second pillar of the Galveston Causeway fishing and relaxing. All of the sudden around 1:00 am he heard a noise getting louder and louder and before he knew it a boat was about to collide with his raft. He told me that he screamed but didn’t have time to react. Operator1 told the GPD officer who responded the night of the accident that he saw Vessel #2 before he struck them and flashed a flashlight at him. Operator1 also told my secretary at my office that he and his girlfriend each had on a headlight when they were struck. Operator1 told me that he had both of the headlights on his head, one facing forward and one facing to his left, so that he could be seen from multiple angles. He said that Vessel #2 hit his raft at an angle on the starboard side middle angled toward the port side stern. His girlfriend was right where the boat hit at the same angle and knocked her completely out of his raft. He said that it was such a hard impact on his raft that most of his gear was thrown out into the water and he couldn't really remember if he was thrown out or if he just jumped out towards his girlfriend. Operator1 did not have life jackets on board his vessel at all and so no life jackets were deployed.  Operator1 managed to rescue girlfriend from the water and then get them both from his raft onto Vessel #2 which transported them back to their truck on the bank. From there he called 9-1-1 and advised EMS how to get to them. He says girlfriend was transported to the hospital where she received minimal treatment and was released. He exchanged information with the operator of Vessel #2.
      Vessel #2 was the aluminum boat that struck the vinyl raft (Vessel #1). Operator2 claims (see attached statement and PWD 0311 reports) that he and his son had been out fishing all evening on the east side of the Galveston Causeway. He said that he was pretty familiar with that area as he fishes there often. When they got tired of fishing, he packed up his gear and headed back towards the ramp at around 1:00 am. Operator2 says that after he passed under the Causeway and got close to the channel like he has done many times before, that he turned towards the boat ramp at Galveston Bait-n-Tackle. He said that he doesn’t drive fast, especially at night, because he knows how dangerous it can be and that he and his passengers always wear their PFD's as he and his son were that night. Operator2 said that he had not driven even half way back to the boat ramp when he heard screaming so he let off throttle to see what was happening. He then struck a vessel that he claims he did not see because they were so small and didn’t have any lights on at all. He stopped completely to figure out what had just happened and administer aid. He said that he loaded Operator1 and victim on his boat, tied their raft to his boat, and drove them in to shore near their truck. He then loaded his vessel and waited for the police to arrive. 
     I inspected both vessel #1 and vessel #2 in person and took photos of each but was unable to find any marks or damage to either vessel that was without a doubt evidence of one colliding with the other.

Galveston                     