On 8/19/10 i responded to laughlin, nv for an accident involving 2 pwc. Upon arrival i met with an employee of extreme water sports. He explained that 2 of their watercraft had collided with each other. I asked for the names and to see the damage. I was escorted to the pwcs to survey and take pictures of the damage. I observed both watercraft had major fiberglass damage to the bow indicating that the skis had collided head on. After surveying the damage i contacted the operator and passenger of az vessel. V2 operator stated that she was heading upriver when she came upon a water taxi. She stated the taxi was to her port side around 100' away when she saw a jet ski come around the bow of the taxi making a u-turn and head straight toward her. She took her hand off the throttle to slow down when another ski came around the bow of the taxi and made a u-turn. She went on to state that she hit the stop button on her ski just prior to v1 colliding with her ski head on. All parties were ejected from the watercraft. She stated that the other operator stated "im sorry, i did not see you". She then stated after getting back on the ski they headed to the rental place. I interviewed the passenger of v2 ans she stated that one jet ski was coming towards them and passed them. Then she noticed another jet ski come in front of the taxi headed straight at them. She stated both of them were thrown from the ski. She stated she hit her head on the back of the ski before entering the water. I asked both v2 operator and passenger to seek medical attention to make sure they were ok. After interviewing v2 occupants i went to western arizona regional medical center emergency room and she stated her son was the operator of v1. She stated operator1 was being treated in the back. I then asked her other son if he witnessed anything and he stated that he heard a loud bang and then saw 3 people in the water. I asked him what he did then and he stated he headed back to the rental agency because his time was up. I explained to other son and mom that he had committed 2 violations, failure to report an accident and failure to stop and render aid. Other son stated he did not know that and had only operated the ski for an hour. 

I a sked operator1 if he could talk and write a statement of what happened today. He stated yes. He stated that he turned around in front of the boat and did not see the other jet ski on the right side of the taxi. He stated that when he did notice he left off the throttle and tried to avoid the collision but could not and hit the other ski head on throwing him of the ski. A sked him if he had boated before and he stated it was his first time and he had only been on it for about an hour. I asked if he received any safety training and he stated no. I explained that he had committed 3 violations, rules of the road-look out, rules of the road-failure to avoid collsion and reckless proximity. After completeing the interview i returned to extreme water sports and asked about their safety training. At this time agency explained their safety training as required by the state and produced the paperwork that all operators had completed the training.

BULLHEAD CITY                 