RedactedNarrative: On 05/25/15 at approximately 7:43 AM, I, CPO was contacted via email from Region 4 Captain, about a boat accident that occurred on 05/24/15 on the Kaskaskia River near Fayetteville, IL.  I contacted Fireman from the Fayetteville Fire Department and he informed me they were dispatched for a rescue of 7 stranded boaters North of Fayetteville and South of the water intake on Highbanks Road.  
   
  Fireman informed me that the boat was still there tied up to the sandbar.  Fireman informed me that the boat was swamped and only the bow was above the water line.  Fireman informed me that no one was injured in the accident.  I later arrived at the Fayetteville Fire Department and was provided with the information they collected that evening. 
   
  According to the information I received from the Fayetteville Fire Department, the operator of the watercraft was Operator. CPOs went out to the accident scene and photographed the watercraft (see attached photos).  I contacted Operator and interviewed him on what happened that night.  According to Operator, he and his passengers left the New Athens area after the Joe Diffie concert at approximately 7:30 PM to head back up stream to Covington where they had previously launched the watercraft from.  According to Operator, at around 9:30-9:45 it began to rain heavily and his visibility became very poor.  He decided to dock his 20ft Weldcraft watercraft (IL Reg #IL3897JW) (HIN # WDB17215B404) on the bank to wait out the storm.  According to Operator the bank was steeper than he thought and when the bow of the boat hit the bank, it forced the bow upwards and the stern down.  The wake from the boat came over the stern of the boat and swamped it.   They had a bag containing their cell phones near the stern and they were damaged by water.  Operator informed me that he and 3 other passengers were sitting in the stern of the boat and one person fell back out of the boat into the river when the watercraft hit the bank. I asked where were all the passengers sitting and Operator informed me the three, and himeslf were sitting in the stern of the watercraft and three more were sitting in the bow of the boat.  Operator provided me with a written statement (see attached statement). I asked Operator how much alcohol he had consumed and he informed me he had between 3-5 beers.  I asked him when he last consumed a beer and he informed me around 7:30 PM.   I also interviewed the passengers and received statements about their recollections of the accident (see attached statements).  Operator informed me about an hour after the watercraft had become swamped they called for rescue.  Operator later contacted me and informed me that he had recovered the watercraft and had an estimate of $8800 in damage to the motor.
  
  End of Report
   