On May 2, 2023 at approximately 1100 hours I, Game Warden for KDWP, was notified of an injury boat accident that had occured at Kirwin Resivoir near Bluegill Point. USFWS officer 2 was already responding to the area. I later responded to the area, arriving at approximately 1400 hours. I made contact with Officer 2 and observed a Lund boat that appeared to have been run aground. The owner of the vessel (Operator) arrived and admitted to being the operator. Operator told me that they were coming from the dam area of the lake back to the boat ramp at about 2200 hours on May 1st and he was using his Lowrance depthfinder for navigation. Operator also admitted that he was looking down on the floor for a spotlight while operating the boat at approximately 30 MPH when he made contact with the shoreline. Operator hit his face on what he believes to be the steering wheel causing a small laceration and visible bruising on his face. There were 6 occupants in the vessell. Operator, Passenger 2, Passenger 1, Passenger 3, Injured and Passenger 4. Injured was also injured in the collision and was complaining of pain in his wrist and hand. No other occupants of the vessel reported injuries. In the course of my investigation it was determined that all PFD's other than the one worn by Passenger 2 were stowed in the front compartments of the vessel. Operator was written NTA's for Failure to Report a Boat accident, PFD's not accessible, No Boat Registration Numbers displayed, No Servicable Fire eqtinguiser, Prohibited/Negligent Operation and Piloting Rules Violation. See Attatched report for detailed information.
Kirwin Reservoir
Kirwin                        