MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — Authorities reported that a man was arrested following a jet ski accident near Johns Pass in Pinellas County on Sunday, which left two children injured.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office stated that at 2:33 p.m., Daniel Patrick Grubert, 48, was operating a rented 2024 Yamaha WaveRunner and was racing another jet ski.
The sheriff’s office said Grubert was not looking ahead or paying attention to where he was going.
According to investigators, Grubert noticed an impending collision as he was turning around, jumped off the WaveRunner, and then the jet ski collided with another rented Yamaha WaveRunner being driven by 45-year-old Walter Wodzien.
The WaveRunner being driven by Wodzien had two child passengers aboard, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old.
All three were ejected from the jet ski and were recovered from the water by the Madeira Beach Fire Department.
The crash resulted in the children being transported to a local hospital, with one having life-threatening injuries and the other sustaining non-life-threatening injuries.
Wodzien was uninjured.
According to investigators, Grubert showed signs of impairment and performed poorly on field sobriety tests.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office detained Grubert, charging him with boating under the influence (BUI) causing serious bodily injury and reckless operation of a vessel.
