Conneaut Lake man is charged for July 2 boating accident
A Conneaut Lake area man has been charged with two felonies plus 11 other counts for allegedly operating a pontoon boat while under the influence of alcohol, causing a July 2 boating accident that seriously injured a 74-year-old man.
According to court documents obtained by the Tribune, Jeffrey D. Cooper Jr. of Conneaut Lake is charged by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission with operating a black pontoon boat — which collided with a 14-foot-long fishing boat on the lake — and fleeing the scene.
The accident injured a 74-year-old man who suffered three broken ribs, two fractured vertebrae and a pneumothorax — a collapsed lung, according to the arrest affidavit. The injured man was initially taken to Meadville Medical Center for treatment but was later transferred to the trauma unit at UPMC Hamot in Erie. The injured man was hospitalized for more than two days before being released.
Cooper, 46, is charged with aggravated assault by watercraft while operating under the influence, a second-degree felony; aggravated assault by watercraft, a third-degree felony; duty to give information, duty to render aid and duty to remain at/near scene, each a first-degree misdemeanor; incapable of safe operation of watercraft after imbibing alcohol and operating watercraft with the highest rate of alcohol (first offense), each an ungraded misdemeanor; reckless operation of a watercraft, a third-degree misdemeanor; negligent operation of a watercraft, a first-degree summary; three counts of violation of general boating regulations and one count of violating lights and signals regulations, each a third-degree summary.
The injured man was fishing with his adult son when their fishing boat was struck by a pontoon boat operated by Cooper, according to the arrest affidavit.
The injured man's adult son was able to jump into the water prior to the collision, but the older man was unable to get out of the fishing boat in time, according to the affidavit. The older man became trapped in the fishing boat when the pontoon boat cruised over the fishing boat, straddling it with the fishing boat's bow protruding between the two pontoons, according to the affidavit.
The injured man was rescued by other boaters, according to the affidavit. Video and statements from boaters on the lake confirmed the collision's aftermath of the fishing boat wedged underneath the pontoon boat, according to the affidavit.
Cooper was found following the crash at his residence, then placed in custody and taken to Meadville Medical Center for a blood draw for alcohol content, according to the affidavit.
In an interview later that evening with officers at the Fish and Boat Commission's regional office in Vernon Township, Cooper admitted to drinking all day, the affidavit stated. Cooper admitted to having at least six mixed drinks at a local restaurant and having 12 additional beers, including drinking on the boat.
Lab results of the blood draw indicated Cooper's blood alcohol concentration was 0.287, according to the affidavit. Under Pennsylvania law, a boat operator with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher is operating under the influence.
Cooper was arraigned on the charges Wednesday before Magisterial District Judge Adam Stallard of Linesville and released on $80,000 unsecured bond awaiting a preliminary hearing on Oct. 17.
