SYNOPSIS

At approximately 1600 hours on Thursday, August 3rd, 2023, I, Officer, was contacted regarding a boating accident which occurred at approximately 1330 hours on Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023 approximately 2 miles south of the Colorado and New Mexico state line on Navajo Lake. Operator1 said he was on his boat, which was stationary in the water with the motor off, working on his boat motor when another vessel struck his vessel, completely going over the top of his vessel causing extensive damage. Operator1 said he and his passenger barely escaped serious injury or death by jumping over the starboard side of his vessel when the other boat collided with theirs. I conducted an investigation into the incident in coordination with Navajo State Park Manager with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. 

NARRATIVE

I asked Operator1 what happened. Operator1 said he had been having issues with his motor all day. He said his engine was off, his vessel (VA) was stationary in the water, and he was working on his motor with the cowl off. His passenger said he thought he saw a ranger boat coming towards them. V1 occupant said he thought this because he saw the white underbelly of a vessel which appeared to have a deep V hull like the ranger boats have, plowing directly towards them, bow to bow. As the vessel (VB) got closer, Operator1 said he realized it was still coming straight towards them and wasn't slowing down. He told V1 occupant to grab the life jackets. Both men grabbed a life jacket and jumped off the starboard side of the boat (VA) into the water. Operator1 said they did not have time to put the life jackets on but rather hugged the life jackets to their chests as they went overboard. Operator1 said the approaching vessel (VB) went completely across the top of his boat (VA), damaging the boat (VA) from bow to stern. Extensive damage was found to the trolling motor at the bow of the boat. Both passenger's and driver's side windshields and metal frames were broken and the canopy was ripped from its metal bracket. There was a crack in the passenger side console. There were fiberglass shavings on the tog of the engine at the stern of the boat where the cowl had been off. Paint was also scraped along the gunwales of the boat. 

Operator1 and V1 occupant said they were in shock after this occurred. The operator of the other vessel stopped and towed boat1 back to Arboles, Colorado, from where they had launched. Operator1 said the operator of the vessel seemed "complacent" and didn't seem to take the incident seriously. Operator1 said when they got back to the marina, he exchanged insurance information, who he said became uncooperative and started blaming Operator1 for the accident. 

On Friday, August 4th, 2023, at approximately 1545 hours, I called the operator of the other vessel.  Subject1 said she was in a work meeting and would call me back. On Saturday, August 5th, 2023, at approximately 1430 hours, Subject1 called me back. I asked her to tell me what happened on August 2nd. Subject1 said she was out on the lake with her daughter and her daughter's two friends. Her daughter and her two friends had been swimming. She said the girls got back on board and they decided to go to Sambrito Cove. Subject1 said she scanned the area and didn't see any boats in the area. She said she was going about 10 miles per hour and at that speed her boat's bow was up "very high" which she said it normally does when "they aren't on plane". She said she sat down for a minute, and after about two minutes they were "flying up in the air on top of a boat". She said she was in complete shock as to what just happened. Subject1 said one of the men said, "We thought you were a ranger so we came towards you" and that they were "sitting there honking and yelling".

 She said she made sure they were okay and towed them back to the marina. Subject1 said when she got back to the marina with the two men, "their story changed". She asked them, "why didn't you move when you saw me coming towards you?" and the men said they were "sitting there the whole time" and that "you came towards us." Subject1 reiterated that when she and her daughters left the area they had been swimming in to go to Sambrito Cove, she did not see a single boat in the area. According to Subject1, there was a dockhand at the marina who overheard some of the men's conversation when she towed them in. Subject1 said she has been boating her entire life and has over 500 hours of boating experience. Subject1 said she knew her boat was damaged, but had not yet received an estimate. Photos obtained from Navajo State Park manager showed multiple scrapes and cracks in the hull of Subject1's boat penetrating the fiberglass. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife Park Technician said he was on the dock when the two boats arrived back at the marina. He said the two men told him the boat had broken down and they were working on it with the cover off. The two men said they thought the boat approaching them was a ranger boat because it was coming so close. They said when they realized there was a problem they yelled and hit the horn before grabbing lifejackets and jumping into the water. They told Subject2 they couldn't see the driver of the boat because the bow was up so high and whoever was driving couldn't see in front of them. Subject2 said Subject1 told him she'd only been driving 10 miles per hour but because of the speed the bow was up high it made it hard to see. She also said she may have been distracted by the girls on her boat. Subject2 provided Colorado Parks and Wildlife maintenance technician phone number. On August 11th, 2023 I interviewed Subject3. Subject3 said he was present when the two boats arrived back at the marina. He said he heard the two men say they were "dead in the water" when the wakeboard boat hit them. He also said he heard Subject1 say she was looking at her monitor when she hit the other boat and acknowledged the other boat wasn't moving. Subject3 said he thought he might have heard the men say something "inconsistent" but he couldn't provide specific details of what was said or if he heard another person say it. 



Navajo Lake
Arboles                       