RedactedNarrative: On September 25th at approximately 1530 Officers were notified of a boating hit and run collision that had happened in the Otter Creek area of Lake Cumberland in Wayne County. I spoke to the caller and was told that his boat had been struck by a Fountain powerboat near the head of Otter Creek and sustained damage. He also stated the Fountain had Ohio registration on the side and that it had left the area of the collision. The caller was attempting to follow the Fountain while he was speaking with me and told me that they appeared to be heading to the Grider Hill area located in Indian Creek on Lake Cumberland and in Clinton County. I told the caller not to confront the subject in the other boat but to try and keep eyes on the other boat if possible. I then began driving toward Grider Hill in my patrol truck. 
  
  Upon my arrival at Grider Hill I phoned the caller back and advised that I was at the marina. As I did this I began to walk down to the marina office when I observed a Fountain motorboat traveling toward the launching ramp area. I then received a call from the original caller stating the boat that struck him was heading toward the launching ramp. I went back to my patrol truck and began heading toward the launch ramp. Prior to my arrival the Fountain occupants were able to pull the boat from the water and attempt to leave the area on Highway 734. I was able traffic stop the vehicle pulling the Fountain a couple miles up the road. 
  
  Upon stopping the boat, I made contact with the operator of the vehicle as well as two other occupants. I had been told by the caller that the boat that struck his had an operator and two other males aboard. When asked if some kind of accident had occurred the operator of the vehicle acknowledged that he had been operating his boat in Otter Creek and nearly had a collision. He stated he did not think he made contact with the other boat. He said the other boat operator had become belligerent and he decided to leave. When asked why he did not wait on Law Enforcement to arrive he stated that he did not have any damage. 
  
  The operator was then asked to describe the events that had led up to what he called a near collision. He replied that he had been operating on the wrong side of a channel and after coming around a point heading back towards the main lake he met a fishing boat almost head on. He stated the fishing boat did not make adjustments to the direction it was going so he had to steer toward the bank on the left side. 
  
  He estimated he missed the bow of the fishing boat by around 10 inches. He also stated that he been running around 45 miles per hour at the time and could not slow down or he was afraid he would not be able to turn sharply enough to miss the other vessel. 
  
  When asked why he did not steer towards the right as required meeting heading on he did not have answer. The other occupants stated that they did not think the two boats make contact. I then walked around the Fountain and documented some damage. I gathered the information needed from the operator as well as serial and HIN numbers for the boat and engines. I then asked the operator about his use of alcoholic beverages as I had observed multiple clues of impairment. 
  
  He admitted to consuming some alcoholic beverages throughout the day and consented to taking some sobriety tests. He showed multiple clues on these tests and was arrested for Boating Under the Influence and Operating a  Motor Vehicle Under the Influence. A subsequent intoxilizer recorded a BA of .083. The subject was lodged in the Clinton County Jail. 
  
  After lodging the operator from the Fountain I then went back to Grider Hill where the original caller had remained. I gathered needed information from him and documented the damage on his vessel. He was not under the influence and was able to give a more detailed version of events as well as nearly an exact location of where the collision had occurred. He also told me that he had been traveling up Otter creek and was getting ready to head into the bank to fish. 
  
  In his description as he was nearing the bank and slowing down from being on plane to fish the Fountain had cut the point in front of him then turned left in between him and the bank striking the bow of boat with the right stern corner or something on the right stern corner. There was obvious fresh damage on the bow and starboard side of his vessel. 
  
  Vessel 1 for reporting purposes was a 1990 model 27 foot Fountain powerboat powered by twin Mercruiser 454 Inboard/Outdrives. Vessel 1 is currently registered in Ohio showing registration numbers of OH-9301-FS. It was operated by OPERATOR 1 and had 2 additional people on board. Vessel 1 did have all required safety equipment and the operator reported to have at one time taken a boater safety class offered by the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Ohio. The operator claimed to have been wearing the emergency lanyard while operating. The operator of Vessel 1 did not report any mechanical or equipment issues with his vessel. The operator of Vessel 1 did admit to have not been traveling to the right of mid channel as required. The operator of Vessel 1 also admitted to having steered toward his left when meeting Vessel 2 contrary to the Navigation Rules. The operator of Vessel 1 did not seem very familiar with the area of Lake Cumberland where the collision occurred as he did not know the creek name nor did he know how far in the creek he had traveled. 
  
  Vessel 2 was a 2010 model 20 foot Skeeter fishing boat powered by a Yamaha 225 horsepower outboard engine. Vessel 2 had all required safety equipment on board and the operator claimed to have been wearing the emergency lanyard on his vessel as well as his pfd. The operator of Vessel 2 did not report ever having a safety inspection on his vessel and did not report any boater education classes. Vessel 2 is Kentucky registered and shows registration numbers of KY-0926-XJ. 
  
  The operator of Vessel 2 stated that just prior to the collision he was slowing down to begin fishing and his boat had come off plane. He estimated his speed to be in the range of 20-25 mph. He stated that as he saw Vessel 1 coming at him he realized that he could not get out of the way due to not being on plane and moved to the rear port side of his boat believing he was going to have to jump out of the boat to avoid being ran over. He said the operator of Vessel 1 steered the wrong direction when meeting his boat head on and could not understand why did not steer the other way as he had move room in that direction to maneuver. The operator of Vessel 2 also said his boat was impacted by the rear starboard corner of something on the stern of Vessel 1. 
  
  The operator of Vessel 1 failed to adhere to multiple rules and regulations while operating his vessel leading to a collision. The operator was not traveling to the right of mid channel in a narrow channel. The operator failed to steer toward starboard when meeting a vessel head on. The operator was under the influence of alcohol during operation. The operator failed to operate at a safe speed in the narrow area he was traveling through. The operator failed to operate his vessel in a manner prudent to avoid damage or injury. 
  
  The operator of Vessel 2 was unable to make any maneuver to lessen the change of collision. At the time of the collision and just prior he had slackened his speed to the point of coming off plane. As this happened he was unable to adjust speed or direction of travel. He at this point was very limited in maneuverability.