RedactedNarrative: I, Officer, responded to a sig 4 boating accident on 6-25-16. I was advised by FWC Dispatch that the victim/operator was getting treatment at Sacred Heart Hospital in Port Saint Joe. The location of the accident was in the Howard Creek Lower Landing area. The vessel involved was a 17 ft Aluminum bearing registration FL 9307 JR. Victim's vessel was reportedly at his house on Juniper Avenue. I went to the hospital to meet with Victim, and Officer went to Victim's residence to assess the damage on his vessel.
  
  I met Victim at Sacred Heart. He was alert but injured. His lower right leg was badly bruised along with a bruise on his left forearm. He said that his groin was pulled also. Victim filled out a witness statement for me. In his statement, Victim said that he pulled up beside a friend of his in a slew. When he pulled away and gave the boat throttle, he was unable to steer. He realized the boat was headed towards a tree and didn't have time to react. When he impacted with the tree, it threw him to the front of the boat and into the water. Victim jumped back into the boat and turned the motor off. He then laid in the boat and several people came to help.
  
  Officer arrived at Sacred Heart with photographs of Victim's vessel. The entire bow section was caved in, which indicated a collision with a hard object. No other parts of the vessel appeared damaged. The damage assessment was approximately 2,000 dollars and concurred with Victim's statement.
  
  I asked Victim why he didn't throttle back when he realized he was unable to steer and headed towards a tree. Victim agreed that he should have. Overall, Victim failed to take Action to Avoid a Collision (Navigation Rule 8). I will issue him a warning for the violation when I see him again.
  
  