Chesterton Tribune

 

 

DNR: Boy rides jet ski up onto beach hitting woman

Back To Front Page

 

A young boy left alone with his father’s jet ski on Sunday at the Michigan City beach inadvertently started it, then rode it up onto the beach, striking a woman, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources said.

According to the DNR, at 1:14 p.m. an Illinois man operating a personal watercraft with his 5-year-old son aboard stopped to help another jet ski operator with mechanical issues. The father, an Illinois man, instructed the boy to stand next to the jet ski while he himself left the water to retrieve an item to help the other operator, the DNR said.

Instead the boy climbed aboard his father’s jet ski and pushed the ignition button, causing the jet ski to move slowly forward. The boy became frightened, reached for the handle bars, and in the same motion gripped the throttle, at which point the jet ski accelerated rapidly and traveled up onto the beach, striking the Mishawaka woman, who was sitting in a lawn chair approximately 30 feet from the water’s edge, the DNR said.

The woman was identified as Cherletta Chipps, 60, of Mishawaka. Cripps was transported to Franciscan Health Michigan City for treatment of a serious foot injury, the DNR said.

The incident remains under investigation.

 

Posted 9/18/2017

 
 
 
 

 

 

Search This Site:

Custom Search