RedactedNarrative: SYNOPSIS
  On July 5, 2021, I took a boat accident report that occurred on July 3, 2021. A vessel driven by operator struck an old steel dock cable. The cable was tangled within the propeller causing damage to the propeller and the paint.  
  
  NARRATIVE
  On July 5, 2021, I was patrolling Huntington State Park in the campground when I was flagged down by a male individual in campsite #8. He asked what the state can do to fix his boat. I replied that I did not know what he was talking about and asked him to explain. He mentioned that his boat ran over our old steel cable while he was docking. He asked that the state pay for the damages, due to a manmade hazard in the water that was not marked. I explained that I would conduct a boat accident report and document the damages, but it would be up to our state insurance, Risk Management to determine if the state is at fault.
  
  INVESTIGATION: 
  I identified the driver and owner of the vessel as Operator from Utah. He filled out a witness statement to what happened the night of the accident. In reading over the witness statement. He explained that he and his family were out on the water watching the fireworks around 10:00pm on July 3rd when the fireworks ended he returned back to the docks. As he approached the docks from the north, he was pulling into the furthest slip away from shore to drop off a passenger. After dropping off the passenger he put the vessel into reverse. It was then that he heard a noise from the boat and realized he hit something in the water. Upon looking in the water he realized it was the old steel cable for our docks.
  
  Operator made contact with Officer with Utah State Parks and Recreation. He then assisted Operator in freeing his vessel from the cable using bolt cutters. Officer then cut the cable from the water and prop. Officer has done a supplement report on what took place the night of July 3rd. Officer also sent photos to me of what the cable looked like prior to removal. These photos are uploaded to this report. 
  
  Once I received the witness statement from Officer, I also gathered everyone's information who was on the vessel at the time of the accident. Only two (2) individuals were wearing lifejackets at the time of the accident. 
  
  Looking over the vessel I found the majority of the damage is on the prop. I found several chips in the prop and the tips were bent. I asked Operator if the vessel had any vibrations after the accident. He said yes. There were also several scratches in the fiberglass around the prop area. This is from the cable as it struck the underside of the vessel. I took photos of the damage area. I noted that there was no other damage to the vessel. 
  
  Once I gathered all of his information I cleared the scene. 
  
  I traveled to the docks where Operator said the accident occurred. Since the water is low I was unable to use my patrol vessel to get the depth of the water in the area of the accident. Using a water clarity disk I took measurements of the water depth. Off the first finger on the north side of the dock I measured the depth of the water to be 1ft 7in. I then took a measurement of the water level off the second finger on the north side of the dock. It measured 2ft 4in. The bottom of the reservoir is mud. I took photos of the area and the measurements. The current water level was 51% from full. The photos are attached to this report. 
  
  CONCLUSION
  I believe that Operator's inexperience and knowledge of the reservoir is a factor in this vessel accident. Also the time of the accident it was dark and unable to judge the depth of the water, due to low light. Operator traveled into shallow water to dock. While the bottom of the reservoir is muddy he would not have noticed that the vessel was on the bottom of the reservoir. Operator's vessel drafts at least 3ft in the water and would be on the bottom of the reservoir prior to reaching the dock. As he traveled over the submerged dock cable the propeller caught the cable and became entangled. The cable is steel and was not floating in the water at the time of the accident. It would have been in the mud at the time of the accident.
  
  End of Report