RedactedNarrative: On july 4, 2016, at approximately 4:45pm, a boating incident occurred on lake wylie.  Vessel operator was navigating a 1995 bombardier gtx personal watercraft with his thirteen-year-old granddaughter on board.  He lost control of the vessel causing him to collide with and ramp over a dock and an unoccupied, docked 1994 challenger sport fisher 15 bass boat.  This incident resulted in damage to the docked vessel, but no personal injuries. 
  
  July 4, 2016 was a busy holiday on lake wylie with high levels of boat activity and clear, sunny weather.  Operator1 stated that he was heading south along the east side of sunset island when he let off the throttle and attempted to make a sharp turn.  I asked if he was attempting to do a “donut” or a “360” maneuver and he stated that he was.  Operator1 was navigating towards a dock on the east side of the lake when he attempted to make the sharp turn.  As he made the turn, operator1 let off the throttle and the personal watercraft continued in a straight direction towards the piling located on the northwest corner of the dock.  At this point, it appears that operator1 experienced off-throttle loss of steering with the personal watercraft.   Because he had let off the throttle on the jet drive vessel, there was no jet of water to direct with the handlebars; therefore, the vessel continued to travel in a straight line.
  
  When operator1 realized the personal watercraft was heading straight for the dock piling, he accelerated and was able to avoid the piling, but he collided with the front portion of the dock (west side of dock).  The personal watercraft ramped up and over the dock, and rode over the top of the unoccupied 1994 challenger sport fisher 15 bass boat.  The bass boat was tied to the southernmost side of the dock at the time of the incident.  The personal watercraft collided with the steering console of the bass boat on the starboard (right) side, rode over the passenger seat on the port (left) side, and exited over the rear port (left) side of the bass boat near the fishing deck.  This incident resulted in minimal damage to the personal watercraft, but caused damage to the fiberglass and steering console on the bass boat.  Based on the insurance estimate, the bass boat was considered a total loss.
  
  It appears that this incident was the result of operator1 operating the personal watercraft in a reckless manner.  Operator1 attempted to make a sudden change in speed and direction with the personal watercraft within close proximity to the dock and was unable to control the vessel.  This reckless maneuver resulted in a collision with the dock and the unoccupied bass boat.   Operator1 was charged with careless and reckless operation of a vessel as a result of this incident.