Boat strikes swimmer on Lake Iroquois

Jane Marinsky set out Saturday afternoon on a swimming route that she does almost every day in Lake Iroquois, donning a white swimming cap and dragging a buoy to be visible to boaters near the shoreline.

A little after 4 p.m. Saturday, Dan Sharpe, Marinsky's husband, received a knock on his cabin's door on East Shore Lane in Hinesburg. A police officer informed Sharpe that his wife had been hit by a power boat and was being brought to the hospital.

Sharpe, 66, said Marinsky, 62, is well-known by neighbors around the lake for swimming on an almost daily basis.

"She used to wear a flag that she had to mark herself, but this buoy that she's been using for the last few years is what seemed to work better in terms of visibility," Sharpe said Monday. "She drags it behind her with a cord from her waist."

Sharpe said he believes the boat was traveling at a high speed when it hit Marinsky square in the chest, and she was pushed underneath the water and under the boat. Marinsky emerged on the back side of the boat and missed the propeller blades, Sharpe said.

Police were looking into the incident Monday. There was no word about the identity of the boat's driver — and it was unclear even which law-enforcement agency was responsible for the investigation.

Six of Marinsky's ribs are broken in 13 places, and she has a broken sternum, one collapsed lung and a partially collapsed lung, Sharpe said. Marinsky was released from the intensive care unit at Fletcher Allen Health Care on Monday, and she was listed in fair condition.

"She's on the mend, and she's going to recover from this, which is the good news," Sharpe said. "She was lucky that it wasn't far more tragic."

Sharpe said he felt "hysteria" when he heard of the crash.

"I was just in shock, really," Sharpe said. He and Marinsky have been married for 42 years and have three children.

Sharpe, vice president of the Lake Iroquois Association, said he thinks the incident should lead to punishment. He said the person who owns the boat owns a cabin on the other side of the lake, but Sharpe was uncertain who was driving when the boat struck his wife.

According to Vermont boating regulations, power boats may not exceed 5 mph within 200 feet of a shore, a person in the water, other vessels or docks. Vessels operating under power must yield to non-powered vessels. Sharpe said there are no markings in the lake to denote areas farther than 200 feet from shore.

Lake Iroquois Association President Bob Pasco said these types of incidents on the lake are rare, but many types of boats and swimmers all coexist on a small body of water. The association sent a letter to the residents of the 91 cabins on the lake Sunday asking neighbors to keep Marinsky in their thoughts and to use caution on the lake.

"Most of the time it works beautifully," Pasco said. "This is a very small body of water, and it's also the closest calm body of water to a very high metropolitan area. ... The potential is there for difficulty, and we have to look out for each other."

Investigation of the incident is underway, though it was unclear Monday afternoon which agency was leading the investigation.

Richmond police and a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Service game warden responded to the scene, and St. Michael's College Fire and Rescue transported Marinsky to the hospital.

Hinesburg police also responded to the incident, but Sgt. Caleb Casco said Monday afternoon the Vermont State Police Marine Division was heading up the investigation, because the lake borders several towns. State Police Troop A commander Capt. Paul White, meanwhile, said that after checking with several state police officers, he determined Hinesburg police were in charge. Game Warden Dana Joyal agreed.

Hinesburg Police Chief Frank Koss did not respond to a phone call Monday seeking comment.

Lake Iroquois is a 237-acre spring- and tributary-fed water body surrounded by Hinesburg, Richmond, St. George and Williston. Measuring about a third of a mile long and a third of a mile wide, the lake is home to swimming, kayaking, canoeing, fishing and waterskiing.

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LizMurraySMC.