On 06/10/12, I (CPO) was notified of a boat accident at North Marcum Day Use Area.  The boat was grounded on the shoreline and abandoned by its operator.  I arrived at the scene of the boat accident.  There was scrapes to the concrete walk way which is owned by the Corps of Engineers.  The lower unit/prop of the boat was damaged and two deep scrapes existed on the bottom side of the hull.  I called its owner, and asked him to meet me at the scene.  I looked in the boat and could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage.  My supervisor,  Sgt. produced a receipt from the boat for the purchase of a 12 pack of Busch beer.  The receipt was dated 06/09/12 at 12:07PM.

Operator arrived at my location and I asked him what happened to his boat.  Operator said he departed the beach the night before on 06/09/12 around 10:30PM.  He operated westbound toward the Rend Lake Marina.  He came upon a boat without its lights off and turned north to avoid a collision.  His boat struck the shoreline.  Operator said he did not see the shoreline.  He said the interior lights on his boat made it difficult to see.  I asked if he had been drinking alcohol prior to the accident.  Operator said no.  I asked if the boat without its lights on came over to help him after the crash.  He said no.  I asked why he left the scene of an accident without notifying the police.  Operator said he was shaken up about the crash and did not think about it.  I asked him what he did after the crash.  He said he walked over to the beach and got help.  He did not return to the boat until the next day approximately 11:00AM.
I completed the boat accident report and issued Operator 3 citations. Operator called a tow service and the boat was removed.  Operator has a mandatory Franklin County court appearance on 07/24/12.  End of report.

Whittington                   