Although it is a somber national holiday meant to remember and honor persons who lost their lives while serving in the U.S. military, Memorial Day weekend is also considered the first “lake holiday” of the summer season.
This year was no exception, with many boaters out on Lake Oconee and Lake Sinclair all weekend, despite some patches of stormy weather.
Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Law Enforcement Division’s game wardens were also on the lakes. Three people were arrested on the Putnam County side of Lake Oconee for boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. One person was injured in a personal watercraft accident.
“It’s not about us trying to write as many citations to boaters as possible; that’s not what we’re trying to do,” Game Warden First Class Erin Paulk said in an earlier interview. “We’re trying to keep everyone safe. We love to see people enjoying the natural resources, but when we see something that potentially could be very dangerous, we stop people and address it.”
Paulk explained that she and her fellow game wardens have worked drownings, accidents, and boating fatalities on the water and saw things they’ll never be able to forget.
“It’s stuff that sticks with us and we don’t want to see anybody else go through that,” she added. “A lot of times, people see us and they dread it. But we’re not out to get them, we just want to make sure people are safe while they’re out on the water.”
PWC accident
Heavy rainfall caused the operator of a personal watercraft (PWC) to run aground and crash into some rocks.
Three people from Atlanta, whose ages are unknown, were riding a 2021 Yamaha Wave Runner on Lake Oconee at approximately 3 p.m. on Monday, May 26.
As they approached the area near the State Route 44 bridge at Lick Creek, the operator, John Randa, reportedly stated that he could not see due to heavy rainfall. When asked, he told DNR Sgt. Tim Butler said that he was traveling at “50, 55, 60 mph,” according to Butler’s report.
“He said he drove into the rocks on the side of the road because he couldn’t see anything,” Butler wrote in the report.
The two female passengers told Butler they “couldn’t see and had their eyes covered due to the rain during the incident.”
The Wave Runner reportedly had extensive damage to the hull, and the two passengers were taken by ambulance to the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, where one of them had to get stitches in her head. Randa's family took him to St. Mary’s Good Samaritan Hospital. He and the other passenger were treated for minor scratches and bruises, according to the report.
DNR Cpl. Taylor Bingham and GW Hunter Carson stayed on the scene so Sea Tow could take the personal watercraft to Fish Tails Marina.
Butler watched a recording of the incident on the Marina’s security camera footage.
“The cameras showed the PWC being driven at a high rate of speed during a heavy rain,” Butler said in his report. “I could not see the occupants on the PWC due to the rain. The PWC came from the west, traveling east, and struck the rocks. … In my opinion, I believe the cause of the incident was that the operator was driving too fast for the conditions.”
Personal watercraft BUI
Another operator of a PWC on Lake Sinclair was also stopped for going too fast, but this instance involved approaching another vessel at a speed above idle, and it wasn’t raining.
Shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, DNR GW Clay Baker and Cpl. Jason Bennett was patrolling Lake Sinclair near the area of Rooty Creek when they noticed a PWC sitting still in the water with two people onboard.
Then, another PWC “attempted to splash the jet ski with the two people by riding up to them above idle speed and making a sharp turn at the last minute,” Bennett wrote in his report.
They stopped the Yamaha PWC and Bennett explained to the operator, Getsemani Ramos, that his actions were dangerous and could be considered reckless operation of a vessel. As Bennett talked, Baker noticed the smell of alcohol coming from Ramos and asked him how much he’d had to drink.
“Mr. Ramos stated he had two beers since talking to me earlier that day when we wrote him a citation for operating a PWC without a [life jacket],” Bennett said.
After Ramos failed a seated Standard Field Sobriety Test, he tried a breath alcohol tester.
“Mr. Ramos was trying to fake blow into the alcosensor,” Bennett said. “He was pretending to blow into the tube without actually blowing into it.”
When instructed by Bennett to actually blow into the tube, the result was a positive test of .086, and Ramos was arrested and taken to Putnam County Jail.
Ramos, 37, of Warner Robins, faces charges of operating a PWC above idle speed within 10 feet of an object, and operation of a watercraft under the influence of alcohol.
Improper lights, BUI
About one hour later, Butler, Bingham, and GW 2 Sterling Gibson were on a boat patrolling Lake Oconee just south of the Old Phoenix Road bridge when they reportedly saw a vessel using docking lights that obstructed the view of the boat’s navigational lights.
The game wardens turned on the blue lights of their patrol boat and stopped the 2022 Malibu open motorboat. Using a handheld spotlight as they approached the boat, the game wardens saw the boat’s operator, later identified as Scott Shearer, swap places with the adult female passenger before the patrol boat arrived. Two children, ages six and nine, also were aboard, and both were wearing life jackets, Gibson noted in his report.
Sgt. Butler explained the reason for the stop, and asked Shearer to show the required safety equipment on board. As he searched for the various pieces of equipment, Shearer became confused and kept asking what he was looking for.
The game wardens noticed that he held onto the side of the boat to steady himself, but remained “uncoordinated and also stumbled and tripped,” according to the report. When asked where they were headed, Shearer pointed in the wrong direction and had to be corrected by his passengers.
Noticing a New Realm craft beer in the cupholder, Butler asked Shearer how much he’d had to drink and was told “a couple of drinks.”
A seated Standard Field Sobriety Test revealed numerous clues of insobriety, followed by a portable alcohol breath sensor test result of .134. Shearer was placed under arrest and read the implied consent warning for a state-administered chemical test of his breath.
“Mr. Shearer proceeded to argue that he did not understand the test and asked if it was a urine test,” Gibson said in his report.
After being reminded that it was a breath test and having read the implied consent form several times, Shearer continued to argue that he did not understand the test, but then agreed to take it. He changed his mind, refusing and then saying yes, several times the rest of the evening before being taken to Putnam County Jail.
The 35-year-old Atlanta man was charged with two counts of child endangerment – BUI, one count of operating a vessel with improper lights, and one count of operation of watercraft under the influence of alcohol.
BUI, pulling tubers without PFDs
Just after 7 p.m. Sunday, May 25, Bingham and Gibson were on patrol in the Long Shoals area of Lake Oconee when they saw a 1983 Hydra Sports motorboat operator towing two females on tubes without life jackets.
The game wardens activated the blue lights on their patrol boat, and the Hydra Sports came to a stop. As they approached the vessel, Bingham said in his report that they “observed the occupant inside the vessel and the operator refrained from looking towards [the game wardens] or looking at each other. Then, they appeared to discreetly talk amongst themselves without looking at one another, while [we saw] the operator slowly fumbling with an item using his left hand only.”
Once alongside the vessel, as the game wardens explained the reason for the stop, Bingham noticed “a significant number of … Fireball shooters and Hard Mountain Dew on board the vessel.”
After confirming all the proper safety equipment was on board and the two women on the tube put on life jackets, Bingham asked the boat operator, Christopher Davis, how much he’d had to drink.
Davis told him one Hard Mountain Dew and a couple of little Fireballs. After failing portions of the seated field sobriety test and showing other symptoms of alcohol impairment, a portable breath alcohol sensor test result reported .217, and Davis was arrested.
Davis consented to a state-administered chemical test, the result of which was .202.
Davis, 28, of Dearing, was taken to Putnam County Jail on charges of operation of watercraft under the influence of alcohol, child endangerment – BUI, and towing a skier without a PFD.