On Sunday, June 11th at approximately 6:45pm I was contacted by my partner, Game Warden, he was informed by Grand Prairie Police Department that there was a Personal Watercraft (PWC) accident that resulted in a fatality on Joe Pool Lake. After my phone call with Game Warden, I called Grand Prairie Police Officer and gathered more information. Officer informed me that two of the males were at the Lake station waiting to be interviewed and the other male and female were transported to Medical City of Arlington Hospital. 

      I arrived at the Grand Prairie Police Department Lake station at 7:55pm. Upon arrival Officer1 informed me that a female was pronounced dead at Medical City of Arlington at 6:44pm. I then asked Officer1 and Officer2 if they thought alcohol or drugs were involved. They informed me that they had no suspicion of alcohol or drugs being involved with their initial contacts with all the occupants. They informed me that they did not smell or see any signs of intoxication. 

 I met with the two young males. Operator2 identified the other male and female who were at the hospital as Subject1 and Victim1. During the initial contact I was informed that Victim1 was the driver of the other PWC, and Subject1 was her passenger. 

     Game Warden1 showed up to the lake station at approximately 8:30pm. The wrecker from Dave’s Hi-Way Wrecker service picked up both PWC’s from Lynn Creek Marina and brought them to the lake station that way Game Warden1 and I could take photos out of the rain that same day to see what damage had been done before we started our investigation. 

The PWC that Operator2 and Subject2 were on had the TX number (vessel 2). The PWC that Victim1 and Subject1 were on had the TX number (vessel 1). It was noticeable that vessel 1 is the PWC that had all the damage. Vessel 1’s console was torn off and laying sideways in the footwell. Most of the damage was on the left front half of the PWC. Vessel 2 had very minimal damage to it. It had a couple of scratches in the left middle side of the PWC and some damage to the back right side of the PWC. After Game Warden1 and I were finished with the PWC’s the wrecker then towed them to Grand Prairie’s Police Department impound lot at 3010 Hardrock Road, Grand Prairie, Texas and placed on a hold until the investigation is complete. 

     Game Warden1 and I then interviewed Operator2 and Subject2 separately to get their stories of how the accident occurred. When interviewing Operator2, I made sure to do HGN on his eyes to cover all my bases and make sure there was no alcohol involved. During both interviews it was apparent that the two PWC’s were doing circles near each other in opposite directions when the crashed occurred. Once Game Warden1 and I were done interviewing Operator2 and Subject2, we released them to their parents, and they were free to go. 

     Game Warden1 and I left the station at approximately 9:40pm and drove to Medical City of Arlington where the 2 other occupants were transported to. Upon arrival I was escorted to the back to continue my investigation on the deceased, Victim1, while my partner waited in the lobby. Game Warden1 and I then interviewed Subject1 in his room while he was being discharged from the hospital. Subject1 had no injuries and was cleared from the hospital. 

     On Sunday, June 12th, State Parks Police Officer and I met at the Grand Prairie impound lot to further the investigation on the PWC’s. Officer is on our departments State Forensic Reconstruction and Mapping Team also known as STORM. I assisted Officer while he took more in-depth photos and measurements of the PWC’s for his part of the investigation. 

     On Monday, June 19th, I met with Officer and Game Warden who is also on the STORM team at the Garland Law Enforcement Office to reinterview the 3 young men about the accident and to see if they remembered anything new from that night. Game Warden has incredible knowledge when it comes to boat accidents and investigating them, so he reached out and offered to help. 

After the interviews all their stories matched the same as they did on the night of the accident. They informed us that they were just playing around on the PWC’s by doing circles next to each other in opposite directions and then they got too close and ran into each other. Game Warden informed Officer and I that it does seem logical, and their story does match up to what the damage was telling us on the PWC’s.
      I am still waiting for the Medical Examiner’s office to send me the official cause of death report, but fatality occurred as a result of the PWC crash.

0582 JOE POOL
Grand Prairie                 