MADEIRA BEACH, FL — A New York man is accused of boating under the influence in a Sunday afternoon jet ski crash near Johns Pass, according to a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release.
Daniel Grubert, 48, of Piermont, New York, was charged with two counts of BUI causing serious bodily injury and one count of reckless operation.
He was on a rented Yamaha WaveRunner and racing another jet ski when he took his eyes off the direction he was traveling around 2:30 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
When Grubert realized a crash was about to happen, he jumped off his jet ski, which crashed into another rented WaveRunner that was operated by 45-year-old Walter Wodzien of Illinois.
Wodzien and his two passengers, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old, were thrown from their jet ski, the sheriff’s office said. They were recovered from the water by the Madeira Beach Fire Department.
The children were brought to a local hospital, one with life-threatening injuries. Wodzien was uninjured in the crash.
After the crash, Grubert showed signs of impairment and performed poorly on field sobriety tests, investigators said. He was arrested and booked into Pinellas County Jail.