On saturday september 2nd 2023, i, indiana conservation officer, was on boat patrol on lake james with indiana conservation officer.  We were both dressed in class b uniform and patrolling in a marked patrol boat.  At approximately 8:25 pm, we received a call from steuben county dispatch reporting that they had just taken a 911 call reporting a boat accident that occurred near lane 585 lake james.  Initially, it was reported that there were injuries when a boat struck a kayaker. We began toward the area from where we were patrolling on the lower basin of lake james.  Soon, steuben county advised us that the victim was out of the water and this was a property damage accident.    
   
At approximately 8:30 pm, officer and i arrived on the scene.  When we first pulled up, we noticed a large group of people standing on the shoreline.  We asked them where the victim was and if they knew where the boat operator was.  We were told that the victim was on shore further to the north of our location and was ok.  We were told that a large white boat had hit them, but they didn't know where the boat was at that time.  I noticed a man waving to us who was standing on a dock.  I operated our patrol boat over closer to his location where i pulled up to an open dock and tied the boat off while officer went to check on the female who had been reportedly struck.  Immediately i saw a blue paddleboard laying on the dock next to the man.  The paddleboard was missing approximately 1/3 of what should have been there. The other 1/3 was still hanging on by a very small section of plastic.  It appeared that a boat propeller had run across the board splitting the two sections.  I looked at the boat that was in the water and did not see any damage to bow / keel area from striking the paddleboard.     
   
I asked the man what had happened.  He stated, he was “hauling ass” trying to get back to his boat lift before dark when he struck a girl on a paddleboard.  He stated that he heard a loud noise and he thought he had struck a goose with his boat.  Soon he realized that had struck a juvenile female on a paddleboard and the sound he had heard was a scream.  He stated that as soon as he realized what had happened, he stopped his boat and he and the passengers in his boat assisted the juvenile into his boat to get her back to shore.  

The man stated that inside his boat at the time of the incident, he had his two children and his girlfriend.  He stated that the juvenile who was struck was shaken up, but he thought she was fine.  The man stated that he could not see the juvenile standing on the paddleboard because his view was obstructed by a large “lilly pad” (foam swim raft) that he had strapped to the bow of his boat.  

He also stated that the juvenile was wearing a black pfd and it was getting dark which contributed to his inability to see her.  State law does not require those paddling on public waters to display any sort of lights in general however they must have a light with them that can be illuminated in time to prevent a collision with a power-driven vessel.  I later learned that the juvenile did not have any lights with her to illuminate prior to the collision.    
   
I asked the man if he had his driver's license with him.  He stated it was in the boat.  I walked with him toward the boat to retrieve it from him.  When he got into the boat, he handed me his drivers license.  I then asked operator1 for the boat registration.  He handed me the boat keys.  I informed him that i didn't ask for the keys but needed the registration for the boat instead.  He then took the keys from me and opened a floating keychain that the keys were attached to and pulled out a rolled up registration from inside.  Operator1 grabbed a bottle of water and stepped out of his boat back onto the dock and began to use an automatic lift to raise his boat out of the water. Operator1 started to drink the bottle of water.  
   
At about this time, two steuben county sherriff's department deputies had arrived on scene and were with us at the dock near his boat lift.  While i was talking to operator1 about what had happened, it was obvious to me that he had consumed alcoholic beverages.  I noticed several clues of probable impairment.  Operator1 had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his breath as he talked to me.  His words were slurred and his speech seemed slow as if he was concentrating on formulating words properly.  Operator1 had bloodshot / watery eyes.  I asked him if he had anything to drink and he stated that wasn't going to lie, he had a few.  I asked him if he had anything to drink between the time the accident occurred and when we arrived on scene and he stated he had not.  He stated the last drink he had was approximately 30 minutes before the accident while he was at the sandbar on lake james. While i was standing next to his boat while he retrieved his license and registration, i had also noticed open alcohol containers inside the boat (truly hard seltzer).    
   
I asked operator1 to put down the bottle of water he was drinking and step away from the boat lift as i wanted to take a look at his eyes.  He agreed and i began to administer the horizontal gaze nystagmus test standing on a wider section of dock a few feet away from where we had been standing next to his lift.  Before the test began, i asked the standard pre-test questions.  I asked if he was under the care of a doctor or dentist and was told no.  Operator1 stated that he had an immune deficiency, however he was not taking any medications other than claritin (non prescription) for seasonal allergies.  Operator1 was not wearing glasses or contacts.  I began by explaining that i wanted him to follow the tip of my finger with his eyes only.  I placed my finger approximately 12-15 inches from the tip of his nose just above eye level and checked for resting nystagmus and equal tracking.  I did not note any presence of resting nystagmus and both eyes tracked equally as i made two passes.  I next made two passes and noted a lack of smooth pursuit in both eyes.  Next, i made two passes checking for distinct and sustained nystagmus at maximum deviation and noted a presence in both eyes.  Next, i made two passes checking for the onset of nystagmus prior to forty five degrees and noted it in both eyes.  I finished the test by checking for vertical nystagmus however did not note it in either of the two passes i made.  Operator1 failed the test by exhibiting a total of 6 clues.    
   
I asked operator1 if he would mind taking a portable breath test.  He agreed and officer who had just arrived back at our location from speaking with the juvenile and her guardian at the time administered a pbt to operator1.  The result was a reading of .092 bac.  
   
With the physical signs of impairment operator1 was exhibiting, his admission to drinking and the failure of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test / pbt, i read operator1 the implied consent warning from my pocket notebook.  Initially operator1 seemed unsure of what was meant by “chemical test”.  I explained that he would be transported to the steuben county jail for a certified breath test.  Operator1 stated that he would consent to a certified breath test.  Operator1 asked us, “please don't handcuff me in front of my kids”.  We advised him that since he was being cooperative with us, we would not need to handcuff him provided he remained cooperative.  Operator1 walked off the dock up toward a deputies car without issue.  
   
All officers on scene discussed the logistics next as i was the only certified breath test operator there.  We decided that one of the steuben deputies would transport operator1 to the jail and i would ride with them while officer took our patrol boat back to the lift near pokagon state park.   
   
Steuben county deputies conducted a pat down search before allowing operator1 to sit in the front

Lake James
Angola                        