ON AUGUST 13, 2023 AT APPROXIMATELY 1630 HOURS I, INDIANA CONSERVATION OFFICER 1, WAS NOTIFIED BY ICO DISPATCH THAT A BOAT ACCIDENT HAD OCCURRED ON GEIST RESERVOIR. ICO 2, ICO 3 AND MYSELF THEN RESPONDED TO BROOKS SCHOOL ROAD IN FISHERS. ICO 2 AND I ARRIVED AT 1636 HOURS WHERE FISHERS PD, FIRE AND EMS WERE ON SCENE. MEDICS ON SCENE HAD EVALUATED ONE JUVENILE, INJURED 1, FOR A HEAD INJURY. INJURED 1 HAD BRUISING TO THE LEFT SIDE OF HER FACE, AND WAS VISIBLY SCARED AND UPSET. HOWEVER, FISHERS MEDICS ADVISED THEY DID NOT SEE ANY OBVIOUS SIGNS OF SERIOUS HEAD INJURY. SHORTLY AFTER OUR ARRIVAL, INJURED 1’S FAMILY ELECTED TO TRANSPORT HER TO COMMUNITY NORTH HOSPITAL THEMSELVES FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION. 
WE THEN SPOKE WITH V2 OPERATOR AFTER LEARNING THAT HIS BOAT, A 22’ MANITOU PONTOON, WAS INVOLVED IN THE ACCIDENT AND HAD TO BE TOWED BACK TO HIS SLIP AT GEIST MARINA DUE TO BEING DAMAGED. V2 OPERATOR WAS OCCUPIED BY V2 PASSENGER ON THE WATER AS WELL. V2 OPERATOR AND V2 PASSENGER STATED THEY HAD BEEN DRIFTING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RESERVOIR WHILE FISHING. THEY WERE DRIFTING IN THE WATER TO THE SOUTHEAST OF THE ADDRESS THAT MYSELF AND OTHER UNITS HAD RESPONDED TO. V2 OPERATOR EXPLAINED THAT ANOTHER BOAT, A 25’ 4” BENNINGTON MARINE PONTOON, HAD BEEN CIRCLING THEM IN THE WATER LEADING UP TO HIS BOAT BEING HIT. V2 OPERATOR AND V2 PASSENGER SAID THAT THIS PONTOON WAS TOWING FOUR CHILDREN ON A TUBE. THEY ALSO FELT THAT THIS BOAT WAS TOO CLOSE TO THEM FOR THEIR SAFETY AND COMFORT. AFTER BEING CIRCLED SEVERAL TIMES, V2 OPERATOR RECALLED THAT THE BOAT CAME RIGHT AT HIS OWN BOAT, HEADING DIRECTLY INTO HIS STERN. V2 OPERATOR SAID THE BOAT THEN TURNED TO THE LEFT ABRUPTLY AND AVOIDED MAKING BOAT TO BOAT CONTACT. HOWEVER, THE CHILDREN BEING TOWED BEHIND IT WERE SENT CRASHING INTO HIS STERN AND ENGINE. V2 OPERATOR SAID HE THEN SAW A YOUNG GIRL, INJURED 1, FLOATING UNCONSCIOUS AND TAKING IN BREATHS OF WATER. HE THEN DROVE IN AND PULLED HER INTO HIS BOAT. BOTH MEN SAID INJURED 1 QUICKLY BEGAN SPITTING UP WATER AND BEGAN SPEAKING AFTER CLEARING HER AIRWAYS. SHORTLY AFTER THIS, V2 OPERATOR SAID THE CHILDREN WERE COLLECTED BACK INTO THE BOAT TOWING THEM. THIS BOAT THEN DROVE BACK TO BROOKS SCHOOL ROAD. BOTH MEN WERE DEEPLY SHAKEN AND CONCERNED FOR INJURED 1, AND SAID THEY INITIALLY DID NOT KNOW IF SHE WAS ALIVE AFTER THE IMPACT. 
V2 OPERATOR IDENTIFIED V1 OPERATOR AS THE OPERATOR OF THE OTHER PONTOON BOAT. HE AND V2 PASSENGER HAD TO BE TOWED BACK TO GEIST MARIA BY A GOOD SAMARITAN ON THE WATER THAT AFTERNOON BECAUSE HE WAS UNABLE TO STEER HIS BOAT AFTER THE CHILDREN AND TUBE IMPACTED HIS ENGINE. V2 OPERATOR SAID PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT HIS ENGINE AND STEERING WHEEL WERE STRAIGHT. WHILE SPEAKING WITH HIM ON HIS BOAT I SAW THAT THE ENGINE WAS ANGLED TO THE LEFT AND WAS LOCKED IN PLACE AS THE CHILDREN IMPACTED IT ON THE RIGHT SIDE. I ASKED V2 OPERATOR TO CHECK TO SEE IF THE MOTOR WOULD RUN AND IT DID WITHOUT ISSUE. V2 OPERATOR SAID HE WOULD BE TAKING HIS BOAT TO BE REPAIRED BY MARIA AND CHECK FOR ADDITIONAL DAMAGE. HE SUSPECTED THE STEERING CABLE HAD BEEN BROKEN. V2 OPERATOR BELIEVED V1 OPERATOR WAS TRAVELING APPROXIMATELY 25 MPH AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
LATER, ICO 3 AND I SPOKE WITH WITNESS AND HIS DAUGHTER, INJURED 1, AT COMMUNITY NORTH HOSPITAL. INJURED 1 UNDERWENT X-RAYS AND CT SCANS TO CHECK FOR BRAIN INJURIES AND BROKEN BONES. SHE SAID SHE WAS SORE AND HAD BRUISES ON THE LEFT SIDE OF HER FACE. SHE DID NOT REMEMBER MUCH OF THE ACCIDENT ITSELF. WITNESS SAID HE AND HIS FAMILY HAD BEEN ON THE WATER WITH V1 OPERATOR'S FAMILY FOR ROUGHLY 45 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, TAKING THEIR CHILDREN TUBING. HE SAID THAT V1 OPERATOR HAD BEEN OPERATING THAT AFTERNOON. WITNESS SAID THAT THEY WERE CIRCLING A DRIFTING PONTOON BOAT BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. HE SAID V1 OPERATOR HAD NOT BEEN DRINKING.
ICO 3 AND I THEN INTERVIEWED V1 OPERATOR AT HIS HOME. V1 OPERATOR SAID HE WAS ON THE BOAT WITH SEVEN OTHER ADULTS AND THE FOUR CHILDREN ON THE TUBE. HE TOLD US THAT OTHERS ON THE BOAT HAD BEEN DRINKING PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT, BUT STATED HE HAD NOT HAD NOT BEEN. V1 OPERATOR ADMITTED TO CIRCLING V2 OPERATOR’S BOAT SEVERAL TIMES LEADING UP TO THE ACCIDENT. V1 OPERATOR SAID DID NOT REALIZE HOW CLOSE HE WAS TO THE OTHER BOAT AND HAD BEEN DISTRACTED BY WATCHING THE CHILDREN FOR A FEW SECONDS MOMENTS BEFORE THEY IMPACTED. V1 OPERATOR DID SEE THE OTHER BOATING DRIFTING, BUT EXPLAINED THAT AFTER HE STOPPED WATCHING THE CHILDREN BEHIND HIM, IT WAS TOO LATE TO AVOID A COLLISION COMPLETELY. HE SAID HE CUT TO THE LEFT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO AVOID V2 OPERATOR. ONCE CLEARED BY EMS, HE STATED THAT INJURED 1’S FAMILY WANTED HER TO BE SEEN AT COMMUNITY NORTH HOSPITAL AND HE DROVE THEM THERE.AFTER DROPPING OFF THE INJURED 1 AND WITNESS AT THE HOSPITAL HE RETURNED HOME WHERE HIS DAUGHTER, INJURED 2, WHO WAS ALSO ON THE TUBE, WAS COMPLAINING OF PAIN IN HER SHOULDER. V1 OPERATOR SAID SHE WAS THEN TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND WAS FOUND TO HAVE A BROKEN COLLARBONE. 
V1 OPERATOR SAID HE HAS OPERATED MOTORBOATS FOR THE MAJORITY OF HIS LIFE, HAVING OVER 500 HOURS OF EXPERIENCE OPERATING. HE HAS PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED TWO WARNINGS FOR BOATING VIOLATIONS FROM INDIANA CONSERVATION OFFICERS ON GEIST RESERVOIR IN THE PAST. IN 2010 HE WAS WARNED FOR FAILURE TO DISPLAY REGISTRATION NUMBERS. IN 2018 HE WAS WARNED FOR TOWING WITHOUT AN OBSERVER ON A PERSONAL WATERCRAFT. 
ON 8/14/2023 AT 1100 HOURS, I FOLLOWED UP WITH WITNESS OVER THE PHONE TO GET AN UPDATE ON INJURED 1’S CONDITION. WITNESS STATED THAT THE CT SCAN AND X-RAYS DONE SHOWED NO BROKEN BONES OR BRAIN INJURY. BOTH V1 OPERATOR AND V2 OPERATOR PROVIDED INSURANCE INFORMATION FOR THEIR BOATS. I ALSO FOLLOWED UP WITH V1 OPERATOR AFTER THE ACCIDENT AND HE TOLD ME HIS DAUGHTER INJURED 2 HAD NO OTHER INJURIES IN ADDITION TO HER BROKEN COLLARBONE. ON 8/22/2023, V2 OPERATOR PROVIDED ME WITH REPAIR ESTIMATES FROM GEIST MARINA FOR HIS BOAT.
Geist Reservoir
Fishers                       