RedactedNarrative: On june 4, 2017 at approximately 7:43 pm i, indiana conservation officer was contacted by steuben county sheriff's department in regards to a boat accident that occurred on lake james. The sheriff's department stated that the accident had occurred in the narrows near the address of 515 lane 510 lake james. Upon my arrival i witnessed one boat and one personal watercraft in the water which i was informed were the two watercrafts involved in the incident. 
  
      i made contact with the operator of the personal watercraft involved. The registration for this watercraft is in 5401 bt.  Operator1 stated he was following a boat going north through the narrows, when all of the sudden that boat slowed down. When the boat in front of him slowed it created a wake. Unable to maneuver the personal watercraft in order to avoid a collision operator1 became airborne from the wake created by the boat. Operator1 then landed on one of the outboard motors and continued to travel in the air until he came to rest back in the water. Operator1 was never thrown from the personal watercraft. At the time of the accident there were no visible signs of damage to the personal watercraft. Operator1 agreed to take a portable breath test and the results indicated there was no alcohol involved. 
  
      i then made contact with the owner/operator of the other watercraft involved. The registration for this watercraft is dl 4836 ah. Operator2 stated he was traveling approximately 25 mph north through the narrows when a boat cut in front of him. To avoid a collision with this boat operator2 slowed his boat down causing the watercraft to come off plane. Then operator2 heard a loud "bang" and looked back to see one of his outboard motors had been struck by a personal watercraft. There was visible damage to an outboard motor at the time of the accident. Operator2 showed no signs of impairment at the time of the accident. 
  
      i spoke with operator1 again. During our conversation operator1 admitted to following too close to operator2's watercraft. He was unable to avoid the collision. I also spoke with all of the witnesses listed. All of which had the same sequence of events as operator1 and operator2. 
  
      at the time of the incident there were no bodily injuries. Alcohol or drugs are not believed to be involved.
  