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NEWS
Slow down and keep away from swimmers
$1750 fine a reminder for skippers to play by the rulesRoads and Maritime Services (RMS) has said that a 22-year-old man from the ACT who was fined $1750 yesterday for colliding with a swimmer on Easter Saturday last year at Lake Burrinjuck serves as a safety reminder to all skippers to slow down and play by the rules.
“On April 7, 2012, a 13-year-old girl had been wading near the beach at Good Hope Resort Lake Burrinjuck when she was hit by a ski boat,” explains Manager Maritime Investigations Craig Purdon.
“The girl suffered deep cuts to her lower left leg and required extensive surgery.
“Throughout the day, the skipper of the ski boat and his father had been taking turns in towing water skiers behind their boat.
“During the afternoon, the 22-year-old skipper brought the boat in towards the beach at high speed and carried out a wide sweeping turn to drop off the skier.
“After the skier dropped off, the boat was navigated at high speed close to the beach when it struck the girl in the water," Purdon says.
After an investigation by RMS Maritime Investigations Unit, the skipper was charged with a number of offences including Operating a Recreational Vessel Negligently causing Grievous Bodily Harm.
He pleaded guilty before Magistrate Mark Richardson in Yass Local Court to the main charge. RMS then dropped the lesser charges.
Magistrate Richardson fined the skipper $1750 plus court costs, noting the skipper’s remorse, the psychological effects the incident had on him as well as the ongoing consequences for the victim.
“This is a reminder to anyone with a boat driver’s licence of some of the key boating-safety tenets -- the importance of keeping to a safe speed, keeping a proper lookout and maintaining a safe distance from people and property such as boats or wharves,” Purdon says.
For more information on boating safety, including distance off requirements, see www.maritime.nsw.gov.au.
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Written byBoatsales Staff
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