RedactedNarrative: On July 30, 2016 at approximately 6:00PM, I (Cpl.) was on patrol in the Isle of Wight Bay, Worcester County, Maryland. I was dispatched to Bayside Boat Rentals for a report of a personal injury boat accident. Upon arrival I observed a subject being treated by Ocean City EMS. I gathered all subjects who had been onboard the vessel and had them stage in an area separate from each other. I met with Ocean City Paramedics who advised the victim had suffered a broken jaw and had a severe laceration to her right thigh caused by a propeller strike. They advised that they would be transporting her to Peninsula Regional Medical Center (PRMC). 
   
    Operator advised at first that he was the operator of the vessel and then stated that he was the responsible party for the vessel but was not operating at the time of the incident. He advised that they were underway on the rented pontoon boat (MD 2702 LB) when Victim moved to the bow of the vessel. He stated that she wanted her picture taken posing like they did in the movie "Titanic". I am familiar with the movie and noted that there is a scene in the movie where a character stands on the extreme bow of the vessel with their arms spread out. He advised that as she was posing for the picture the vessel hit a boat wake causing Victim to fall overboard off the bow. He advised that he immediately shut the engine off. He advised that the vessel ran over Victim and that she emerged from the stern of the vessel in obvious distress. At that time he dove into the water to retrieve Victim. Once onboard they called 911 and started to apply pressure to her wounds. Operator advised that he and subject had been the responsible operators for the group. He stated they were both were driving at times but that Subject had been behind the controls when Victim fell overboard. I detected an odor of an alcoholic beverage on Operator. I ran Operator through a battery of field sobriety tests. Operator completed the tasks to my satisfaction that he was not impaired. I asked Operator to submit to a preliminary breath test to which he consented to. The results indicated a blood alcohol content of .03. 
    Officers arrived on scene and I asked them to collect written statements from everyone who had been present on the vessel. I then met with subject2 who was in the ambulance with Victim. She gave a similar set of facts as to Operator. She stated that Operator had been operating the vessel at the time of the occurrence though.
   
     I met with Subject. She advised me of the same set of facts as the previous two subjects but stated that she was operating the vessel at the time. I asked her if she had consumed any alcoholic beverages during the day. She stated that she was the only person who had not been drinking alcohol. I did not detect an odor of an alcoholic beverage on her breath or person. I did not note any signs of impairment. 
  
  I also met with and reviewed the statements of three others. They all gave similar accounts except for who the operator was at the time of the incident. They did all state that Operator and Subject were the only two who had permission to operate and that Operator was the responsible party for the rental. I also viewed a cell phone from one of the subjects who was taking the picture of Victim when she fell overboard. The last image on the cell phone showed Victim posing at the bow of the boat with her arms spread out holding a red plastic cup. The boat appeared to be in motion while this was occurring. All subjects also confirmed that Victim had been consuming alcohol throughout the day. 
  
     I met with an agent from Bayside Boat Rentals. They advised that there was no damage to their vessel as a result of the collision. I issued Operator a citation for Negligent operation of a vessel. Even with the discrepancy as to who was actually at the controls it was clear after speaking with all occupants that Operator was in charge of the vessel. As the "Captain" of the vessel he should have insured the vessel was not in motion before having someone stand on the bow of the vessel. 
  
  Cpl. responded to PRMC to check on Victim's condition and to obtain a statement. Cpl. advised me that Victim was going to be transferred to Penn Hospital in Philadelphia due to the severity of her injuries. He also obtained a written statement. In that statement she advised that subject was operating the vessel at the time of the occurrence. 
  
   All of the above events occurred in Worcester County Maryland.
  