RedactedNarrative: On April 26th, 2021 I, Game Warden, received information of a boating on Lake Sinclair. I was instructed to go there the next day by Sergeant and that there were no injuries. 
  
  	On April 27th  I went to the scene and met with the owner of the boat dock that was hit by a pontoon boat the previous day. Dock owner showed me the damages to the dock as well as the vessel that was hanging up on the boat lift. Dock owner also showed me the security footage that he had from the security cameras on his boat dock and I was able to see where a white male operator ran into the side of the boat dock taking out approximately 7-8 feet of docking and damaging the boat on the lift. In the video there appeared to be four people and a dog, with no injuries to anyone. I observed significant damage to both the dock and the boat on the lift. The unoccupied damaged boat is a 2001 POLARKRAFT, 16 foot in length and is registered to Dock owner with registration of GA 6349 VA.
  
  	Dock owner informed me that he was inside his home when his neighbors across the cove called him and informed him that his dock had been struck by the pontoon boat. Dock owner states that he went down to the dock and made contact with operator and passengers on the vessel and everyone confirmed that they were ok. Dock owner made several attempts to contact the Baldwin County Sheriffs Office and they instructed him to exchange information. Dock owner also made contact with Sgt. of DNR who later instructed me to meet with Dock owner the next day.
  
  	After speaking with Dock owner I made contact with neighbors and had them tell me what they had witnessed the previous day. Subject1 informed me that she did not see the boat wreck but heard the loud crash into the dock and looked up to see them trying to reverse out from under the dock and asked if everyone was, in which they replied "yes". She said they then slowly moved around to the other side and met with the owner of the dock, Dock owner. Subject2 confirmed what Subject1 had stated. After speaking with Dock owner and the witnesses I contacted the owner of the vessel to see if we could set up a time to speak in person about the events that took place.
  
  	On May 3rd, 2021 I met with Operator1 and we went over the details of what happened that day. He informed me that he was just out for a late evening ride and that he was heading home when they decided to pull into the cove. Operator1 stated that he had turned around and was cruising back out of the cove when his son who has Cerebral Palsy, made a jerking reaction which made him temporarily take his eyes off of the pontoon's course. When Operator1 looked back forward it was too late and they struck the dock. Vessel 1 struck the dock as well as the boat on the lift before coming to rest under the lifted boat. Operator1 estimated their speed at between 20-30 MPH. He also informed me that nobody was injured and there was only a small tear in the leather seat of his boat. I charged Operator1 with operating a vessel at above idle speed within 100' of a object/shore and informed him to make contact with the property owner to work out the details of the damage repair for the dock.
  
  	After speaking with Dock owner, he informed me that he had a quote for both the boat and the dock. The boat quote is estimated at $6,700.00. The dock repair quote is estimated to be close to $20,000.00. For a combined total of $26,700.00 dollars in estimated property damage. During our meeting Operator1 informed me that he did not have insurance on the boat and that he would be paying out of pocket for said damage.
  