RedactedNarrative: On wednesday, october 24, 2018, i received a report of a boat incident on lake gaston.  At approximately 1900, officer and i met with operator1 at his residence.  We asked to see his vessel and for him to give his own account of what transpired.  
  
  Operator1 stated that he was operating his pontoon boat with a 60hp evinrude, with three passengers.  Operator1 stated that he and his companions had just dropped off one of their friends at his dock.  They were leaving his dock traveling southwest when they were involved in a collision at approximately 12:30pm.  Operator1 made mention that his vessel was traveling at approximately 10mph when he noticed a blue blur on his left-hand side.  In an attempt to avoid a collision, operator1 made a sharp turn to the left and put his motor into neutral just before the impact.  The pontoon boat sustained damage on the right front portion of the pontoon boat.  There was blood on the railing and on the right side of the pontoon boat.  There was a three-foot section of railing that was peeling off because it punctured the fiberglass of the blue boat and lodged to the point that the two vessels were stuck together for a period.  When asked about injuries, operator1 said that he was alright, but one of his passengers, an elderly gentleman had been thrown into to the floor of the boat and sustained a shoulder and neck injury.  He was transported to the hospital in south hill, va, and later the trauma center at vcu.  Operator1 said that he towed the other operator's vessel and his one passenger to their dock after the incident.  Operator1 completed a 4.1 boating accident report.
  
  The other operator was identified who showed us his vessel, a blue nitro z18 with a 150hp mercury.  Operator2's vessel had sustained damage on the right side of his vessel near the operator's seat.  The foam inside the fiberglass was exposed for approximately two to three feet.  There was a visible hole in the interior close to the throttle, blood on the helm, driver's seat, and floor.  Operator2 sustained injuries to his face.  His right eye was extremely black, blue, and swollen.  His face was swollen with stitches across the bridge of his nose.  
  
  Operator2 stated that he and his passenger were running at approximately 40mph coming from eaton's ferry bridge into songbird creek heading back to their dock.  He said that he “never saw another vessel”, but felt the impact and was thrown into his dash.  His passenger was thrown out of the vessel and into the water about ten feet in front of his bow.  He said this occurred between 12:30pm and 1:00pm.  Operator2 recovered and was able to get into the other vessel and throw v2 occupant a rope to pull him back into the vessel.  At this time, operator2 stated that operator1 towed them back to their dock.  Operator2 completed a 4.1 boating accident report.
   
  Officer and i then proceeded to the residence, we met with subject1 who was the individual dropped off at his dock just prior to the incident.  Subject1 had hearing aids in while we spoke with him.  He stated that he was walking back to his house when he heard a loud bang.  He turned to see the pontoon boat in contact with a blue bass boat.  He took a picture with his cell phone of the scene.  He also launched his own vessel and proceeded to go help with the rescue.  He took pictures of the scene once he arrived closer.  Subject1 shared these pictures with us.  He also launched his own vessel and proceeded to go help with the rescue.  He took pictures of the scene once he arrived closer.  Subject1 shared these pictures with us.  He also stated that he was dropped off at his dock at around 12:30 pm.  Subject1 witnessed the collision, took his own vessel to the scene and took pictures.
  
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