SYNOPSIS:
On Thursday, Aug 24, 2023 near Halls Crossing Marina and the mouth of Bullfrog Bay a boat struck land. 5 people were on board, 3 in serious condition and were later transported via Helicopter. The other 2 were checked out and released by the Bullfrog Clinic. The Vessel was a total loss and a boat accident report was filed.

CRASH: 

The crash occurred at approximately 2110 on Thursday, August 24, 2023 near Buoy 93a on Lake Powell. Vessel 1, a 1997 Reinell, was traveling northwest from Halls Crossing Marina towards Bullfrog Marina. The boat was traveling around speeds of (20-25MPH). The vessel was traveling on the left side of buoy 93a, when it struck and hit land on a rock feature. The rock was shaped like a jetty, and was located near the entrance to Bullfrog Bay. 

VESSEL 1: 

Once the Vessel struck the rock, it made a loud noise (noted by Witness) and came to a stop. The vessel was wedged onto the rock. Operator and owner, was in the down position in the driver seat when they struck the rock. Operator hit the steering wheel and launched forward into the front windshield. Later he would receive the suspected serious injury/ Deep Laceration to his head and pain to the chest. Operator was flown later from Bullfrog Clinic to St George Regional. 

Front Passenger stated he was standing at the time of the incident. Operator was also thrown forward into the windshield. Due to the forward motion and striking the front compartments, he was suspected of serious injury to his chest. His suspected injuries included broken ribs and a pneumothorax (punctured or collapsed lung). Operator was flown later from Bullfrog Clinic to St George Regional. 

Middle Port Passenger: was seated in the seat directly behind  Operator. The chair she was sitting on also served purposes as a bench that could fold out and in. The chair she was seated and was later found on August 26th, about 50 yards to the west of the crash. she was the first person to be treated and flown out by helicopter due to a suspected serious injury to her spine, and head. 

Middle Starboard Passenger: Occupant was in the seat facing the rear, in the two different facing seats attached to the operator's position. Occupant sustained very minimal injuries during the accident with some bumps and bruises. Occupant helped the others on the boat.

Back Passenger:  Occupant 2 was seated on the engine cover of the boat and was thrown into the vessel. Occupant 2 most serious injury was a suspected mild concussion and hit his head when the boat came to a stop. Occupant 2 was released from the medical clinic in Bullfrog that night.

NARRATIVE:
At approximately 2131 on Thursday, August 24, 2023 I (Ranger) received a call from a National Park Service (NPS) Ranger stating that he received a call from the Glen Canyon Dispatch of a vessel that struck a rock near Halls Crossing. Occupant 3 requested that I could come and assist (due to my ability to boat at Night). The call lasted about one minute as I gathered more information and planned for us all to meet at the Government boat dock. Once in service, I responded to the government dock where I was met by Ranger  and Ranger . They prepped the vessel with medical supplies and an extra backboard.

At the time multiple calls had made contact with Glen Canyon Dispatch. Dispatch provided the new information that there were a total of 5 people and they were pinging coordinates near the mouth of Bullfrog Bay. We called on water to dispatch shortly after prepping the boat and made our way to the coordinates provided by Dispatch. Around 2210 and about 50 to 100 Yds out, we spotted a flood light from a bystander boat. I came off-plane at a wakeless speed to make sure we could find a safe path to the accident. As we got closer, we noticed that 4 of the 5 passengers were out of the boat and on the rock. The last of the five, Occupant 5 was still inthe boat and a bystander, later identified, was holding her in the water,in a C-spine hold towards the back of the boat. 

The back end of the boat was in the water about 3-5 feet down with the front half of the boat perched on the rock they struck. While holding in C-spine hold, Occupant was stating patient info to Ranger as we were making our approach. The other vessel with the flood light/spotlight had two individuals onboard later identified as the owner of the vessel,  and his son  who was operating the vessel. They guided us to the beach area where it would be best to approach with the vessel, and gave us a run down of who was who and their suspected injuries. While approaching the shore Rangers exited the boat with their medical kits and began to triage and assess the scene. EMT 1 being an Advanced EMT took care of the most critical condition patient and EMT 2 did a quick assessment on the others. I anchored my boat and tried to find a land Zone for the Classic Helicopter, which was about 15 mins out. We had about a 10x10 Land Zone for Classic. 

Waiting for Classic, I supported the needs of injured by grabbing a C-Collar out of his medical bag and started trying to remove glass so we could get them to the bow of the boat. We were trying to get her onto the land as soon as possible, because the boat was taking on water. We tried breaking down the frame that held the glass windshield, but we were unsuccessful. We got injured 1 to the center of the bow on the scoper backboard. We had her in a position that was stable. Once she was in the center of the bow Ranger placed a rope on the back board that I grabbed off my boat dock lines. This rope helped so I could pull the back board up the bow of the boat while the two kept her stable. We got her to the end of the bow and Classic arrived around 22:30 and landed in the 10x10. Once  injured were off the boat, we took injured 2 and put her on the sand stone where Classic Medics took over. 

They began to assess the other individuals on the boat, as I tried to gather information on the less injured. She was still in shock and was unable to give clear information on the events that lead up to the crash. I had her and her brother stay by the two patients while they were being treated. Individual was on the phone with his brother, who also called into Dispatch. I wrote patient info down for injured as they were assessing them. 

Once injured 1 was stabilized and was giving pain killers by classic, I assisted with classic flight crew and the bystander with transporting her toward the helicopter. On the way back I grabbed the backboard on my boat at the request of injured to help transport  onto my boat. We got them to lay down on the backboard but she was in excruciating pain. Classic took off shortly after. We notified Dispatch to request the Bullfrog Clinic to meet us at the Clinic and have another Ranger,, bring down Medic 5 (the park's ambulance) and meet us at the North Ramp. 
After requesting the clinic and Ranger, with help, NPS RANGERS we were able to get injured on my boat and ready for transportation. I asked if they could help by following my vessel to Bullfrog North Ramp with injureds aboard their vessel. This was so they would have room to work if needed. They kindly accepted and got the others onto their boat, ready for transport. 

PATIENT TRANSPORTATION:
Once on the boat we pulled away from the scene notifying dispatch of our patient info and our passengers. We traveled back to Bullfrog at Plowing speeds (around 10-15 MPH) to minimize further injury or risk. Transportation time by boat was around 15 mins. 
We met Ranger at the dock and got the wheeled stretcher  and assisted them
Lake Powell
Bullfrog                      