OSHKOSH, Wis. –A DNR report sheds more light on a hit-and-run boat crash on the Fox River earlier this month.
Officers who investigated the crash say a powerboat owned by Jason Lindemann struck the On the Loos Cruise paddle-wheeler nearly head-on in the middle of the river on the night of July 9.
The report notes that Lindemann’s boat did not have any navigational lights on at the time.
- See the report here: Untitled_07222022_073726
The powerboat then continued upstream on the Fox for a short time after the crash, turned around, passed by the Loos Cruise boat without stopping to render aid, before continuing down to the mouth of the river. There, four of the seven passengers got off on the north shore of the Fox, while Lindemann’s boat turned off its cabin lights and went out onto the open waters of Lake Winnebago.
The Loos Cruise was able to make it to shore and get all of its passengers back onto dry land.
The report cites six factors that contributed to the crash: careless operation, alcohol use, excessive speed, improper lookout, navigation rules violation, and operator inattention.
The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Department located Lindemann’s boat the next day but did not have contact with him until the Monday after the crash. He was arrested but has not yet been criminally charged.
