ThongMagnet
10-24-2006, 10:36 AM
Deputy: Teacher in boat crash smelled of alcohol, marijuana
Sarah Muench
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 24, 2006 09:50 AM
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS - The owner of an Ahwatukee school and driver of a boat involved in a deadly crash last summer near Lake Havasu smelled of marijuana and alcohol after the collision, according to a Mohave County Sheriff's Office report obtained by the Arizona Republic.
More than four months after the crash that killed a California man and sent 10 Ahwatukee Foothills schoolteachers overboard, authorities have yet to release the blood alcohol content of the boat drivers, according to the documents.
Eyewitness accounts vary, with some saying Shetal Jagdish Walters, 43, owner of Desert Garden Montessori School in Ahwatukee, drank alcohol before driving the boat and others saying she didn't drink at all, according to the report. advertisement
But a Sheriff's deputy noted, "I could smell a slight odor consistent with the inhalation of marijuana on Walters' person. I also detected a slight odor consistent with the consumption of alcohol emitting from Walters' person," according to the report.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office still has not released the toxicology results from the accident and it is unknown if Walters or the driver of the other boat, David Adam Ramsey, 33, were impaired.
The Office is waiting on results from the state Department of Public Safety, where they outsource their lab tests, and waiting is routine, said Trish Carter, spokeswoman for the Mohave County sheriff.
“We're waiting,” Carter said Tuesday in a phone interview. “We're playing the waiting game.”
In a written statement to authorities, Walters did not mention alcohol consumption.
"We all flew out, I was thrown over and looked up to find my boat in shambles and my friends scattered all over, I panicked and began looking for our 15 members in our party," wrote Walters, who gave permission for a blood test.
Deputies took blood and urine samples from both drivers. A boat's driver is BUI, or boating under the influence, at 0.08 percent blood alcohol level in Arizona, California and Colorado.
Esther Geel, a passenger on Walters' boat who was injured in the crash, told authorities that Walters had not consumed alcohol during or before the trip, according to the report.
Teacher and passenger Janelle Smith told deputies all passengers had breakfast burritos and a few had Bloody Mary's before the crash, but couldn't remember who was drinking, the report shows.
Smith, who said she was six weeks pregnant at the time of the crash and not drinking, suffered a broken leg and four-inch laceration to the right side of her head. She was flown to a Las Vegas hospital.
Another teacher, Marti Player, who suffered a leg injury that required skin grafts, told deputies that everyone on the boat had been drinking Bloody Mary's, including Walters, who was making the drinks, according to the report.
Player also said during the trip toward the crash site, everyone on the boat was drinking various types of alcohol, including Walters, who had two or three bottles of Corona beer, according to the report.
" . . . from my recollection, Shetal Walters was driving the boat at that moment there was consumption of alcohol on the boat but I don't know how much each individual consumed," said Terri Pintus, a passenger of Walters' boat in a written statement to deputies.
Witnesses also said a male driver was operating the boat before Walters took over during the trip, the report shows. No one on the boat was wearing a life vest, the reports stated.
Jill Corson, a passenger on Walters' boat, said Walters zigzagged with movements to try to avoid the other boat, but the two watercrafts ended up in a head-on course and she heard Walters scream and knew the boats were going to hit, the report shows.
Corson told deputies she saw people in the water and started throwing life jackets to everyone, according to documents.
In a statement to the Arizona Republic, Walters' attorney Douglas Fitch said Aug. 30 that Walters was not impaired while operating her boat. "Shetal Walters, the operator of one of the boats involved in an accident at Lake Havasu on June 3, was not under the influence of alcohol . . . she took appropriate evasive action in her attempt to prevent this extremely unfortunate accident. We will await the full police report before making further comment," Fitch wrote in an e-mail.
Fitch said he is a parent of a student who attends the school.
Both boats were speeding at 35 to 40 mph in Jopps Harbor, a heavily traveled, narrow waterway commonly referred to as "Speed Alley," and failed to take corrective action to avoid the crash, the report shows. Authorities also believe Walters' operating inexperience contributed to the accident, the report shows.
A California man, David George Ramsey, 54, was ejected from his boat. His body was found June 16 in the lake. Ten of the 15 teachers were thrown overboard in what authorities have described as a "T-bone" crash. Many were hurt, but two were seriously and critically injured.
Teacher Heather Storck, 35, the most critically injured from Walters' boat, had been listed in critical condition for about two weeks before she was released from a Las Vegas hospital.
The local teachers were attending an annual retreat hosted by Walters at her Lake Havasu City vacation home and were boating about 3:20 p.m. just north of Lake Havasu on the Colorado River when the two high-performance boats met head on.
Sarah Muench
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 24, 2006 09:50 AM
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS - The owner of an Ahwatukee school and driver of a boat involved in a deadly crash last summer near Lake Havasu smelled of marijuana and alcohol after the collision, according to a Mohave County Sheriff's Office report obtained by the Arizona Republic.
More than four months after the crash that killed a California man and sent 10 Ahwatukee Foothills schoolteachers overboard, authorities have yet to release the blood alcohol content of the boat drivers, according to the documents.
Eyewitness accounts vary, with some saying Shetal Jagdish Walters, 43, owner of Desert Garden Montessori School in Ahwatukee, drank alcohol before driving the boat and others saying she didn't drink at all, according to the report. advertisement
But a Sheriff's deputy noted, "I could smell a slight odor consistent with the inhalation of marijuana on Walters' person. I also detected a slight odor consistent with the consumption of alcohol emitting from Walters' person," according to the report.
The Mohave County Sheriff's Office still has not released the toxicology results from the accident and it is unknown if Walters or the driver of the other boat, David Adam Ramsey, 33, were impaired.
The Office is waiting on results from the state Department of Public Safety, where they outsource their lab tests, and waiting is routine, said Trish Carter, spokeswoman for the Mohave County sheriff.
“We're waiting,” Carter said Tuesday in a phone interview. “We're playing the waiting game.”
In a written statement to authorities, Walters did not mention alcohol consumption.
"We all flew out, I was thrown over and looked up to find my boat in shambles and my friends scattered all over, I panicked and began looking for our 15 members in our party," wrote Walters, who gave permission for a blood test.
Deputies took blood and urine samples from both drivers. A boat's driver is BUI, or boating under the influence, at 0.08 percent blood alcohol level in Arizona, California and Colorado.
Esther Geel, a passenger on Walters' boat who was injured in the crash, told authorities that Walters had not consumed alcohol during or before the trip, according to the report.
Teacher and passenger Janelle Smith told deputies all passengers had breakfast burritos and a few had Bloody Mary's before the crash, but couldn't remember who was drinking, the report shows.
Smith, who said she was six weeks pregnant at the time of the crash and not drinking, suffered a broken leg and four-inch laceration to the right side of her head. She was flown to a Las Vegas hospital.
Another teacher, Marti Player, who suffered a leg injury that required skin grafts, told deputies that everyone on the boat had been drinking Bloody Mary's, including Walters, who was making the drinks, according to the report.
Player also said during the trip toward the crash site, everyone on the boat was drinking various types of alcohol, including Walters, who had two or three bottles of Corona beer, according to the report.
" . . . from my recollection, Shetal Walters was driving the boat at that moment there was consumption of alcohol on the boat but I don't know how much each individual consumed," said Terri Pintus, a passenger of Walters' boat in a written statement to deputies.
Witnesses also said a male driver was operating the boat before Walters took over during the trip, the report shows. No one on the boat was wearing a life vest, the reports stated.
Jill Corson, a passenger on Walters' boat, said Walters zigzagged with movements to try to avoid the other boat, but the two watercrafts ended up in a head-on course and she heard Walters scream and knew the boats were going to hit, the report shows.
Corson told deputies she saw people in the water and started throwing life jackets to everyone, according to documents.
In a statement to the Arizona Republic, Walters' attorney Douglas Fitch said Aug. 30 that Walters was not impaired while operating her boat. "Shetal Walters, the operator of one of the boats involved in an accident at Lake Havasu on June 3, was not under the influence of alcohol . . . she took appropriate evasive action in her attempt to prevent this extremely unfortunate accident. We will await the full police report before making further comment," Fitch wrote in an e-mail.
Fitch said he is a parent of a student who attends the school.
Both boats were speeding at 35 to 40 mph in Jopps Harbor, a heavily traveled, narrow waterway commonly referred to as "Speed Alley," and failed to take corrective action to avoid the crash, the report shows. Authorities also believe Walters' operating inexperience contributed to the accident, the report shows.
A California man, David George Ramsey, 54, was ejected from his boat. His body was found June 16 in the lake. Ten of the 15 teachers were thrown overboard in what authorities have described as a "T-bone" crash. Many were hurt, but two were seriously and critically injured.
Teacher Heather Storck, 35, the most critically injured from Walters' boat, had been listed in critical condition for about two weeks before she was released from a Las Vegas hospital.
The local teachers were attending an annual retreat hosted by Walters at her Lake Havasu City vacation home and were boating about 3:20 p.m. just north of Lake Havasu on the Colorado River when the two high-performance boats met head on.