On August 13th 2023, at approximately 1530 hours, I, Texas Game Warden, received a call from the Travis County Sheriff's Office (TCSO) Dispatch for a call on Lake Travis near Captain Pete’s Boathouse on Point Venture Travis County Texas. The call was in reference to a 2 vessel accident with multiple injuries.

I arrived on scene at approximately 1650 hours. The TCSO Deputies on scene stated the 2 parties on the vessels involved were sitting together on the restaurant’s patio. The first vessel, a 23ft pontoon with 13 passengers on board was traveling down river from the Point Venture beach area on Point Venture Island.  The Personal Watercraft was following behind it and struck the pontoon, hitting and injuring 5 individuals onboard the pontoon.   

The Deputies had all passengers and operators on the patio of the restaurant, with 5 headed to local hospitals and 1 deceased on the dock next to where the pontoon was tied up to the dock.
Piloting the pontoon vessel was O1 visiting from New Jersey. O1 was sitting by himself at a different table than the others and I approached him, introduced myself, and told him why I was there.  I asked him if I could ask a few questions on what happened, and he said yes.

He went on to say they were all employees and family of employees from Real Estate.  Around 1100 hours they rented the pontoon and PWC from Lakeway Marina just across the lake from our current location.  They traveled from the Marina to Point Venture Beach just a little upriver.  Since there were 14 of them total, they rented a Jet ski (PWC) and individual 1 and her son Operator 2 followed the pontoon to the beach with her operating it.  

They spent approximately 3 hours at the beach, then loaded up to head back to the marina. At that time, Operator 2 jumped on the PWC and all other passengers were on the pontoon with Operator 1 as the operator. They headed back and Operator 2 followed behind them with the PWC. On the way, Operator 2 was seen behind them, jumping the wake of the pontoon several times.  Operator 2 said he started to slow down to talk to someone near him and that is when the PWC struck the right rear of the pontoon.  It continued up into the pontoon, struck Deceased from the back, continued over the top and landed onto the front left seats. 4 other individuals were struck in the process.  

Operator 1 said they slowly made their way over to the dock at Captain Pete’s Boathouse where several citizens were able to assist with Deceased.  TCEMS arrived with TCSO Deputies and they took over CPR on him.  They declared he was deceased on scene.  
Game Warden arrived on scene and assisted with interviewing the passengers.

I Introduced myself to Operator 2 and mom.  I asked them to go through the days events with me and start with leaving the marina and what they were told about operating the PWC.  Mom said they told her to sign the lease paperwork, which she did, then explained how to start the PWC, forwards, and reverse.  They explained how to get out of the marina and onto the main Lake without hitting any low spots and said to stay away from other objects.  

Operator 2 said they left the marina and went to the beach with his mom driving the PWC with him on the back.  They hung out around the beach for a couple of hours and then started to head back to get the vessels back on time.  His mom rode on the pontoon while he drove the PWC by himself and followed.  Operator 2 said she was watching him the entire time they were heading back.  She watched him jump the wake behind their pontoon a couple of times.  The pontoon started to slow down and she noticed Operator 2 was coming up behind them and didn’t seem to slow down.  She saw him hit the pontoon and go over the top, separated from the PWC himself, she grabbed him and he landed on the front deck of the pontoon.  2 other people pushed the PWC off of the individuals on the seats back into the water. They made their way over to Captain Pete’s and tied off the pontoon.  Another vessel assisted them and brought the PWC over and tied it up also.

TCSO contacted authorities in New Jersey to go over and notify the spouse of death.  TCSO also contacted the Medical Examiner and requested them to respond and transport Deceased. 

After speaking with the rest of the passengers on board (Listed Below), we were able to confirm the information obtained from both operators was consistent with reports from the TCSO, passengers, and video footage later obtained by Game Warden.  The video footage shows the PWC jumping the wake behind the pontoon, the pontoon slowing down, then the PWC making contact with the pontoon and landing on top of it.

I contacted the owner of Lakeway Marina, and informed her the two vessels were being seized for evidence and I asked if she had a trailer for them. She informed me they did not have trailers.  I told her I would call a tow company to pull them near Emerald Point Marina and put them on trailers. 

We contacted Flagship Towing from Lake Travis and they provided trailers for both vessels.

Contributing Factors to the accident:
Vessel 1 - Lack of a proper lookout
Vessel 2 - Lack of experience
             - Lack of a proper lookout
             - Violate 50ft rule
             - Jumping the wake of another vessel

Nothing Further at this time.
0743 TRAVIS
Lakeway                       