RedactedNarrative: On July 10, 2016 this Officer#1, responded to a boat accident that occurred at the Buttonwood Beach R.V. Resort boat ramp.  At approximately 1515 hours a 23ft Crownline motor boat named “xxxxx”, operated by the owner Operator1, collided with the end of the dock that runs adjacent to the boat ramp.  Operator1 stated that the vessel was having mechanical difficulty and would not shift in or out of gear.  The problem started when the vessel was out by the Elk River channel. The boat could move forward at slow idle speed of approximately 6 knots. Since the vessel was moving forward Operator1 decided to bring the vessel back to the boat ramp.  Their plan was to approach the dock and then turn off the motor and drift up to the dock.
  There were five persons on board the vessel.  Operator1’s wife, Passenger1, their daughter, Passenger2, and husband, Passenger3 and their 20 month old son, Passenger4.  
  As they approached the dock Operator1 stated he told the passengers to put on their life vests.  Passenger2 put on her life vest and the baby already had his life vest on.  Operator1, Passenger1 and Passenger3 did not put on life vests.  Passenger3 climbed onto the bow of the vessel and had a line in his hand, ready to jump onto the dock.  When the vessel was approximately 10 feet from the dock Operator1 turned off the motor.  Instead of slowing down the vessel quickly accelerated to approximately 20 knots and collided with the dock.  The bow of the vessel went up in the air and rolled towards the port side.  Passenger1, Passenger2 and Passenger4 were all ejected from the vessel.  The vessel came back down and stopped.  Passenger3 was still on the bow of the vessel and then he jumped into the water and swam the line to the dock.  He passed the line to a person on the dock and then swam over to the three persons in the water.  He assisted swimming the other occupants to the dock where they were all removed from the water.  
  
  When this officer arrived on scene at 1536 hours, Passenger1 was lying on a bench and appeared to be in shock and had an abrasion to her left leg.  Her shoulder was also sore but there were no open wounds that I could observe.  She also apparently suffers from Panic Attacks.  A few minutes later an EMT arrived and after checking her vitals he advised her that she appeared fine but as a precaution she should go to the hospital.  Passenger1 refused to be transported to the hospital and signed a waiver to this effect.  The medical personnel also evaluated the baby and his vitals were normal.  There were no other injuries that required anything more than first aid.  
  The boat had been removed from the water by security personnel at Buttonwood Beach R.V Resort and placed on a trailer.  This officer inspected the vessel and found it to have all the required safety equipment.  There was a 6” fiberglass crack at the bow on the port side just above the waterline.  The gelcoat was damaged and some cracking of the outer layers of fiberglass.  Upon inspection of the shift control the handle had no resistance and would not engage forward or reverse.  It appears the cable could be broken.  The dock sustained some minor damage.  There were some scuff marks on a piling and a board that had minor damage.  The damage to the bow and repairs to the shift cable and dock should be less than $2000.
  