At around 12:30 p.m., Officer arrived on scene and met with Highlands County Deputies and Emergency Medical Service personnel. They advised him that there were five people on board an airboat that had collided with a cypress tree. They also advised that three of the people on board had been injured, two of which had already been transported to Highlands Regional Medical Center in Sebring while the other was being airlifted to Tampa General Hospital.

  At around 12:34 p.m., I arrived on scene and met with Officer. We examined a section of an established trail where the airboat had been traveling prior to the collision. It appeared that the operator of the boat approached a narrowing section of the trail at an unsafe speed and lost control. We observed were the airboat left the trail and traveled through the branches of a brazilian pepper tree. The boat then traveled back across the trail in the opposite direction and over a partially submerged barbed wire fence. After crossing the fence, the boat ran head on into a cypress tree approximately 6.5 inches in diameter. The tree was broken over as a result of the collision. Officer and I documented the accident scene and took photographs. FWC Pilot assisted by providing aerial photographs taken from his aircraft.

  At around 1:45 p.m., I contacted the boat owner's spouse. She authorized me to release the boat to subject who secured the boat and removed it from the accident scene.

  At around 2:30 p.m., FWC Investigator responded to Tampa General Hospital and located victim1, who was the accident victim that had been airlifted earlier. At around 2:50 p.m., Inv. conducted an interview with Victim1 and took a statement. Inv. provided a supplemental narrative with the details of Victim1's statement. It is located in the attachments section of this report.

  At around 2:45 p.m., Officer and I met with the remaining four individuals who were involved in the accident. We located them at Highlands Regional Medical Center, where we conducted interviews with each of them and received written statements.

  At around 3:00 p.m., I interviewed Operator who was not injured. She stated that she was driving the airboat headed out of Trail's End Fishing Resort. She said that the owner of the boat advised her to go in a certain direction. She stated that some debris (cattails, grass, or branches) flew up in her face. She said there was a barbed wire fence on her left and then she hit a tree. She said there were five people on board and two of them went into the water.

  At around 3:05 p.m., Officer interviewed victim2 was a passenger on board the boat at the time of the accident and sustained injuries. She stated that the airboat she was riding on went over a barbed wire fence and within a few feet they hit a tree head on. She said when the boat came to a stop, she was lying across the front. She said her left leg hit the front of the boat, which caused her to break her tibia.

  At around 3:05 p.m., Officer also interviewed subject3 was a passenger on board the boat at the time of the accident. He was ejected from the boat, but was not injured. He stated that they were traveling through the marsh and he noticed a barbed wire fence. He said they went just over it and struck a tree. He stated that he went over the front of the boat. He said that he stood up and jumped back into the boat to assist victim1 and talk to 911.

  At around 3:30 p.m., I interviewed subject4. She was also ejected from the boat and sustained minor injuries to both of her knees. Subject4 stated that she was riding on the airboat.
SEBRING