On 8-25-23 at approximately 2127 hrs. V1 Injured and V1 Operator in their boat and V2 Operator in his boat were involved in a boating accident near Longview boat ramp at Perry Lake.  Sunset on this day was 2004 hrs. V2 Operator put his boat on the lake at Longview boat ramp earlier that afternoon and was in his boat fishing around Longview boat ramp.  Just prior to the boat accident V2 Operator was fishing south of the boat ramp and decided to move to a different location to the northwest.  V2 Operator said he started his boat and before he put the boat into forward gear, he looked to the direction he wanted to go and didn’t see any boats.  V2 Operator said he proceeded to put the boat into forward gear and started to give it more throttle.  V2 Operator said after a few seconds his boat hit something and the next thing he remembers is he was in the water.  V2 Operator believed he was knocked out for a short time and doesn’t remember all the details immediately after the accident. V1 Injured and V1 Operator put their boat on the lake at Longview boat ramp at approximately 2030 hrs.  At the time of the accident, they were sitting in their boat with the boat motor shut off floating approximately 100 yards outside the No Wake Area of the Longview boat ramp.  V1 Injured was sitting on the swim platform on the starboard side and V1 Operator was sitting on the swim platform on the port side.  V1 Operator got up when he saw the boat coming their direction and got up into the boat.  V1 Operator told V1 Injured that the boat was going to hit them and then he moved towards the drivers seat and the boat struck them. Jefferson County Sheriff’s Deputy 1 was dispatched to the boat accident and gathered information for the accident report. V1 Injured was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka by Jefferson County EMS. V1 Injured’s injures consisted of a broken rib on her right side and bruising to her upper back.  V2 Operator refused transport to the hospital but was later taken to Stormont Vails Hospital that night by his wife.  V2 Operator’s injuries consisted of a chipped tooth V1 boat had extensive hull damage to the port side, back half of the boat.  The rear starboard side had moderate damage as well. V1 Operator said he thought the navigation lights (red & green and all-around white light) were on but sometimes V1 Injured disconnects the all-around light when she sits on the swim deck to keep the bugs away.  I checked the electrical components to the boat.  The horn, blower, bilge pump worked, and the navigation light (red & green and all-around white light) did not work.  I checked the wiring and the bulb to the all-around light, and everything looked good even though the pole to the all-around light was bent.  Based off photos of the boat I was given a $25,000.00 damage estimate of the boat. V2 Operators boat had fiberglass damage to the bow of the boat above the bow eye.  Fiberglass damage towards the front third of the boat, mainly along the chines.  Additional fiberglass damage on the rear ports side.  The lower unit also had transfer paint on it where it struck V1 boat.  The prop on the lower unit was not damaged.  Based off photos of the boat I was given a $8,500.00 damage estimate of the boat hull and another $2,500.00 for possible lower unit damage.  V2 Operator said at the time of the accident his red and green navigation light was not plugged in, therefore not on but the all-around white light was plugged in and working.   Photos taken by Deputy 1 the night of the accident showed that to be true. At the time of the boat accident both boats were in violation of not having their required boat navigation lights on.  Both boats should have had their red & green and the all-around white light on.  V2 Operator was also operating his boat with his fish finders on which were located on the steering console in front of the steering wheel.  Having the screens of the fish finders on while driving would have likely made it harder for V2 Operator to see V1 boat on the water even though V1 Operator did not have their boat navigation lights on.  If V1 Operator had their boat navigation lights on, then V2 Operator would have had a better chance of seeing them that night before and after V2 Operator started to operate his boat in the direction of V1 boat.
Perry
Ozawakie                      