RedactedNarrative: On 07/18/22, I was advised of a boat accident involving two PWCs operated by juveniles that occurred on Johnsons Pond in the town of Coventry on 07/10/22 at about 1630 hours. Lt. sent me two boat accident reports, each from a parent of the juvenile operators involved. Vessel 1, a 2020 Seadoo RXTX bearing RI registration, was operated by O1. Vessel 2, a 1999 Seadoo GTX bearing RI regstration, was operated by O2.  
  	The specific location of the incident on the pond where the jet skis were operating was described as an area of the pond west of the dam, adjacent to Ayoho Rd and Sharon Dr. This area of the pond is a relatively narrow section, averaging about 500 feet from shore to shore for about 1300 feet.
  	Johnsons Pond is heavily used by rereational boaters during the summer months. There are hundreds of  residential homes and at least two campgrounds along the shoreline. In spite of recent issues with the water level flucuating due to the dam owners manipulations, recreational boating on the pond still occurs. 
  	On July 10, 2022 the weather was clear with a high temperature of 81 degrees and no precipitation recorded in the Providence area>>>>>>>>>>>>>
  
  	I spoke with O2 father, over the phone. He stated he was not present at the time of the collision. He heard from witnesses as to what occurred. One of those witnesses was witness. She was also on a jet ski at the time. I spoke with her breifly and she agreed to provide a written witness statement. In her statement, she described how she had seen a group of youths operating PWCs erratically and at a high rate of speed during her time on the water. One of them was O1.
  	She had observed that O2 was, "stationary", or not making way on the jet ski. As witness approached O2 to check on her, Vessel 2 struck Vessel 1. Witness stated O1 fell into the water after the collision and occupants of another boat in the area assisted with getting him out of the water. 
  	In my conversation with her father, he indicated O2 said she was not looking in the direction from where the jet ski came from and was initially unaware what had happened. She did not fall off the jet ski but noticed the jet ski was sinking. Witness stated she told her to drive the jet ski to a nearby sandbar.  
  	In his statement submitted with their boat accident report, O1 described the events leading up to the collision. When I spoke with his father, he stated that O1 typed the statement himself. O1 described jumping wakes behind a red wake boat. By his account there were about 10-11 jet skis. When a few left the area, he stayed and started to jump the wake created by the boat. He stated "...I jumped again and there was another jet ski on the other side of the wake that I didn't see when I started going". He also stated it appeared to him the other jet ski was making way towards the boat "at medium speed" when he landed in the water. The jet skis then collided. 
  	Whether Vessel 1 was making way or not at the time of the collision, that does not relieve the responsiblity of Vessel 2 to follow the U.S. Inland Rules of Navigation. Specifically Rule 5: maintain a proper look out, Rule 8: take action to avoid collision, and Rule 6: operate at safe speed when in proximity to other vessels. 
  	Additionally, RI General Law 46-27-2(b) prohibits jet ski opeation in such a way that endangers others including jumping wakes.  "A personal watercraft must at all times be operated in a reasonable and prudent manner. Maneuvers that unreasonably or unnecessarily endanger life, limb, or property, including, but not limited to, weaving through congested vessel traffic, circling a larger vessel unreasonably or jumping the wake of another vessel unreasonably, constitutes reckless operation of a vessel and are prohibited."
  
  
  
  
  Crash Damage Analysis
  
  Vessel 1, a 2020 Seadoo operated by O2 was heavily damaged in the collision. The fiberglass hull was shattered at the port bow below the rubrail and reinforced, hard plastic bow cap. There are several linear breaks eminating from the point of impact from Vessel 2, about 6-8 inches below the rub rail. There are several scratches, gouges, and evidence of red paint and white gel coat transfer from the hull of Vessel 2 embedded in the exposed fiberglass and black, hard plastic parts of the bow on Vessel 1. Toward the aft corner of the hard plastic bow cap on the port side, there is a wide scratch and transfer of red paint and white gel coat transfer about 3 inches in length. Embedded in the plastic is red paint and white gel coat fragments.
  
  Vessel 2, a 1999 Seadoo operated by O1 had minor damage to the fiberglass bow cap. The fiberglass is cracked and there are scuffs, scratches, and a more significant scratch that went therough the red paint and into the white gel coat that left black, hard plastic transfer. That portion of the vessel lifts to expose a storage area forward of the throttle control. The rub rail at the port bow has a hard rubber cap with a hole to access a fastener. The leading edge of that hole is deformed and still had a piece of black gel coat from Vessel 1 inside it at the time of my inspection. The rub rail has several scratches and marks on it from contact with the broken fiberglass and gel coat of vessel 1. 
  
  The impact point of Vessel 1 was about 8 inches below the manufacturer's waterline of the vessel, and at about 345 to 350 degrees relative to its centerline. About 30 inches aft of the bow stem on the port bow, there is damage pattern consistent with the shape of the hull of Vessel 2. At the outer edge of this break pattern in the gel coat, there is evidence of red paint transfer. The hull of Vessel 2 below the rub rail is red in color.