10 drunken people ejected from a 21 foot boat

Fort Wayne woman gets home detention for boat accident

That's a lot drunks in one small boat. Does not say the boat driver was drinking. She gets to pay $110,000 to her 'boating buddies' for their injuries plus house arrest. Everyone is your friend until something bad happens, then they aren't. Those drunks bear some responsibility just putting themself in that situation. Be careful who you go boating with and don't do stupid things like this woman and passengers did. Everything is fine until something happens. School of hard knocks, some, likely most, have to learn the hard way, some never learn. They all should get Darwin awards.

The dumb idiot should get the Darwins award for letting 10 people on a 21 foot boat never mind the drinking. It seems people are getting stupider by the minute.

If she was under the limit her insurance probably had to pay.

Even if over the limit unless specifically stated otherwise.

must of had decent HP to get going fast enough to toss the 10 drunks overboard. typical news story doesn't give much detail.. like if it was even her boat .. and if she got tapped as the least impaired to get the others home.


HW

Smh. Nothing spells out accident waiting to happen than that many drunk people on a small boat with a 21yo at the helm.

Boat wreck trial rescheduled for August | Heraldrepublican | kpcnews.com

She was also drinking, BAC was .122. Boat hit a wave and ejected the people. And some jumped out of the boat?

Then the 2007 Correct Craft Air Nautique (high speed ski type boat) free drove around the lake until a deputy entangled the prop in a rope to slow it down, then jumped into the boat to stop it.

Video of boat going in circles, crashing into docks and smashing into boats
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http://www.kpcnews.com/news/latest/...cle_2e6bee96-73d4-11e7-b4be-9b7ab056599f.html
ANGOLA — Steuben County Prosecutor Jeremy Musser has filed an additional charge against Dominique M. Effinger, 20, who was allegedly driving a boat that crashed on Lake Gage on July 22, ejecting most passengers and causing injury.

On Friday, Musser filed a second set of charges alleging Level 6 felony operating a motorboat while intoxicated resulting in serious bodily injury and operating a motorboat with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least .08 percent resulting in serious bodily injury.

Effinger, Fort Wayne, is now facing seven charges, four of which are Level 6 felonies. Her first court appearance is set for Aug. 14 at 1:30 p.m. before Magistrate Randy Coffey. Her attorney in the case is Travis Friend, a Steuben County native who now practices law in Fort Wayne. The case will be in Steuben Superior Court.

Effinger is also facing Class C misdemeanor charges of operating a motorboat while intoxicated, operating a motorboat with an alcohol concentration at least .08 percent and minor consuming alcohol.

In a probable cause affidavit filed in court, Effinger’s blood alcohol content, measured at the scene, was .122 percent shortly after the accident, which was reported at about 7:15 p.m. One is considered legally intoxicated at .08 percent blood alcohol concentration in Indiana.

This weekend it's SeaFair here in Seattle (Airshow, Blue Angels, speed boat racing) on Lake Washington. We live near the event and typically try to "get out of Dodge" to avoid the traffic.

Yesterday I decided to head to the marina to perform some preventative maintenance on Fortitude and avoid the madness. When I arrived around noon I noticed a lot of the smaller boats that seem to never leave the marina were all gone. Around 8:00pm, one-by-one, they started returning. Highly entertaining.

At least one boat, an open wake boat, appeared overloaded with about 10 incredibly drunk 20-somethings onboard. They could barely dock and when they did it took another hour of loud arguing to get all the gear off the boat. There was one really interesting discussion about how the blender should be transported home.

Glad they all made it back safely but it seems so ridiculous to put yourself at such risk.

A lot of lives ruined, including the offender's, by alcohol. Young people destroyed. Whatever future she had is no longer possible. By our lack of enforcement, we've made driving under the influence and operating a boat under the influence acceptable. Rather than being proactive, we're reactionary.

My one virtue. I never drink while operating, not even a single beer while staying under the limit.

Why is she the only offender, if they were all drunk? Liability should be evenly spread amongst them all.

toocoys said:

Why is she the only offender, if they were all drunk? Liability should be evenly spread amongst them all.

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Doesnt work that way until each civil suit case is heard, then her lawyer could make a case for split liability.... otherwise the law only applies to her ss the operator.

What is a Split Liability Agreement?

psneeld said:

Doesnt work that way until each civil suit case is heard, then her lawyer could make a case for split liability.... otherwise the law only applies to her ss the operator.

What is a Split Liability Agreement?

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That’s the problem with this society. They are just as liable as she is. They got on the boat, they all got drunk, they allowed her to drive, and none of them took responsibility for their own welfare.

What should happen is they should all be told, “sorry for your luck chuck.” But instead the insurance is going to pay out 9 settlements and make all of our premiums go up. (I know one case won’t donthat but it has to contribute even in the most minute way.)

Drunk people "allowing" someone to drive....?....?.....

Isnt "drunk" by definition not in a position to think reasonably? Sure is in my exoerience.

And no they are not liable for the accident. Pkenty of drunk boaters every weekend dont have accidents.

What would confusing is if they gave her house-arrest and her 'house' was the boat.

I do not allow folks to drink underway, only when safely tied to the home dock and I sure do not overload the boat.
I doubt if there was enough PFDs on board too, additional fine.

psneeld said:

Drunk people "allowing" someone to drive....?....?.....

Isnt "drunk" by definition not in a position to think reasonably? Sure is in my exoerience.

And no they are not liable for the accident. Pkenty of drunk boaters every weekend dont have accidents.

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Yes they allowed her to drive.

No one stopped beforehand and said “hey, maybe you shouldn’t drive” or “I’m not comfortable with you drinking and driving”.

And yes they are just as liable. If you knowingly and willingly take part, shouldn’t that make you just as culpable? If you knowingly and willingly place your life in the hands of someone you KNOW isn’t capable of saving it, don’t you share some of the responsibility?

toocoys said:

Yes they allowed her to drive.

No one stopped beforehand and said “hey, maybe you shouldn’t drive” or “I’m not comfortable with you drinking and driving”.

And yes they are just as liable. If you knowingly and willingly take part, shouldn’t that make you just as culpable? If you knowingly and willingly place your life in the hands of someone you KNOW isn’t capable of saving it, don’t you share some of the responsibility?

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If as YOU say they all got drunk, then no one was qualified to allow or not allow, none were in their right mind.

You are in a logic loop....or I am .....made of your own facts.

Now to be fair, the article said all had been drinking, not necessarily drunk...so if you want to break the loop, here's your chance.....

psneeld said:

If as YOU say they all got drunk, then no one was qualified to allow or not allow, none were in their right mind.

You are in a logic loop....or I am .....made of your own facts.

Now to be fair, the article said all had been drinking, not necessarily drunk...so if you want to break the loop, here's your chance.....

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They didn’t wake up drunk. They made a choice.

See, impossible to answer the catch 22.

psneeld said:

See, impossible to answer the catch 22.

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Wifey B: So now the question is who was drunk first. Did they allow her to operate drunk while they were sober or were they already drunk? Oh and who served or bought the booze. Oh what a tangled web.

The Captain is in charge and the one legally liable. If the captain can somehow prove that their injuries were attributable in part to them being drunk then perhaps split civil responsibility.

Your catch 22 is a nice chicken and egg.

Thankfully they didn't cross the road in the boat.

psneeld said:

Thankfully they didn't cross the road in the boat.

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Wifey B: They tried but midway they got confused over which was the other side.

Years ago, there was a wedding party taking and enjoying an after ceremony boat ride on the ICW. A drunk boater and passengers came out of Guest a side canal, at a high rate of speed and T-boned the boat of the wedding party killing some of them serious injuring others. The drunk driver of the boat was tried, found guilty and sentence to a lengthy time in prison for felony drunk driving resulting in multiple deaths. I'd guess maybe 10 years later, he and his attorney appealed for a new trial. The judge threw the attorney and defendant out of the courtroom. Appeal denied.
In FL and GA and many other states, you get a ticket in a boat, the points go on your driver's license.
Drunk boating has a special problem, no real brakes.

If I became drunk and took a cab home "like a good boy," would I be liable for a collision on the way home caused by the cab driver? Would that apply on the subject scenario?

markpierce said:

If I became drunk and took a cab home "like a good boy," would I be liable for a collision on the way home caused by the cab driver? Would that apply on the subject scenario?

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Are you sitting on the taxi driver's lap?
Are you covering the driver's eyes with your hands?

OldDan1943 said:

Are you sitting on the taxi driver's lap?

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No. I'd imagine I'd be in the back seat

markpierce said:

If I became drunk and took a cab home "like a good boy," would I be liable for a collision on the way home caused by the cab driver? Would that apply on the subject scenario?

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Seriously, there are serious differences between "land laws" and maritime laws. The maritime courts will assign %age of guilt, no one gets off scott free.

BandB said:

A lot of lives ruined, including the offender's, by alcohol. Young people destroyed. Whatever future she had is no longer possible. By our lack of enforcement, we've made driving under the influence and operating a boat under the influence acceptable. Rather than being proactive, we're reactionary.

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Not sure where you're from, but lack of enforcement is not the issue...and neither is punishment. Go sit in a courtroom for a day, you do not get out of dui charges, ever. And enforcement is reactionary by nature, however, there are plenty of proactive measures put in place like sobriety checkpoints and enforcement programs.

Have yet to see a sobriety checkpoint on the water....

must be quite the boat rodeo trying to get everyone to stop and hold position.

psneeld said:

Have yet to see a sobriety checkpoint on the water....

must be quite the boat rodeo trying to get everyone to stop and hold position.

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Sorry that wasn't clear enough for some slow movers here.....His point was a broad one that we don't enforce DUI statutes, not limited to boating if I inferred correctly, thus putting the blame on society for the self destructive behavior of some. I completely disagree.