Drugs, alcohol ruled out in Lake Iroquois crash

Police on Tuesday publicly identified the operator of the boat that stuck a woman Saturday afternoon on Lake Iroquois, and the authorities ruled out drugs and alcohol as factors in the incident.

Christopher Thompson, 47, of Hinesburg, was driving the boat, police said.

Thompson was given a breath test by Hinesburg police to check for traces of alcohol, and Hinesburg Police Chief Frank Koss said Thompson "blew zeros."

Fletcher Allen Health Care said the swimmer, Jane Marinsky, 62, of Hinesburg was in fair condition Tuesday. Her husband, Dan Sharpe, said Monday that Marinsky had been released from the intensive care unit that afternoon. Both Thompson and Marinsky live in houses along Lake Iroquois, Koss said.

Previous coverage:Boater strikes swimmer on Lake Iroquois

Koss said Tuesday police are looking into how fast the boat was going when it struck Marinsky, and officers have been speaking to witnesses to get an estimate. Koss declined to comment on the probability of charges because the department was waiting to finish the investigation, which was set to resume Monday after the officer in charge returns from vacation, he said.

The investigating officer at the scene collected sufficient information and evidence at the scene on Saturday to warrant postponing investigation, Koss said.

"This is something that is not that time-critical because the officer marked every single thing possible that he needed to do before he cleared that scene," he said.

Uncommon incident

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Warden Dana Joyal, who responded to a radio call about the accident, found that Thompson had been towing two people from the back of his Four Winns motorboat during a birthday party he was hosting at his Pine Shore Road home, said Major Dennis Reinhardt, the deputy chief warden.

Thompson told Joyal he had been traveling toward shore at about 10 miles per hour, Reinhardt said. Thompson put his throttle in neutral when he felt a bump about 150 to 200 feet from shore.

Reinhardt said Thompson told Joyal he had not seen Marinsky in the water. Margaret Spivack, who was on the boat with Thompson acting as the spotter, said she also did not see Marinsky, but felt the boat hit her and watched Thompson jump out of the boat to help the swimmer, Rinhardt said.

Initial reports showed Marinsky was 30 feet from the shoreline when she was hit in the chest by the boat, police said. Marinsky suffered six broken ribs, a broken sternum and a collapsed lung, her husband, Sharpe, said Monday.

Sharpel said Monday that these types of incidents on Lake Iroquois are rare. In an emailed letter to lake community members, the Lake Iroquois Association — of which Sharpe is vice president — said Marinsky was wearing a white swimming cap and towing a buoy for higher visibility. She was also within 200 feet from shore.

Marinsky, who swims in the lake on almost a daily basis, was lucky since she will recover from her injuries, Sharpe said. On his way to the hospital Tuesday, he told the Burlington Free Press that Marinsky's recovery will be slow, but she is continuing to do better. Sharpe said he is not sure that Marinsky will be able to get back into the lake again this year.

Sharpe said he is interested in speaking to the police as soon as possible and wants to see charges brought against Thompson.

Sharpe also said he will work toward making some changes in boating rules on Lake Iroquois. The lake is small enough that a boats can easily violate the 200-foot buffer zone required by state law when approaching the shore, a swimmer or another boat, he said.

"Some of these boats are out here with these big engines that they have, and they just belong on a bigger piece of water," Sharpe added. "That's the kind of change I'd like to see."

Hinesburg Chief Koss said confusion over which law enforcement agency was leading the case Monday stemmed from miscommunication Saturday when agencies were being dispatched to the lake.

Koss said that in his seven years with the Hinesburg police department, this is the first boating accident that he has had to respond to. The incident will be a learning experience for future boating crashes that could occur, he said.

"From this, we're going to be a little bit smarter with this and make sure the proper communications are going through to state police, if they're going to respond," Koss said.

State police spokeswoman Stephanie Dasaro said the state police's marine division is assisting Hinesburg in the investigation.

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