Paddleboarder injured after being hit by jet ski on Ghost Lake

Cochrane RCMP are looking for witnesses after a man was injured when his paddleboard was struck by a jet ski Saturday evening.

At 7 p.m. on Sept. 7, police were called to Ghost Lake for reports of a collision on the water.

Officials say a man and a young girl were riding a paddleboard when they were hit by a man on a jet ski.

The male left the scene but was later identified by witnesses and arrested.

Bradley Edward Baxandall, 31, of Cochrane, faces charges of failing to stop at the scene of a crash causing bodily harm, dangerous operation of a vessel causing bodily harm, common nuisance - causing injury and failing to provide a breath sample.

Baxandall declined to comment further when CTV News reached out to him over social media. He is expected in court on Sept. 24.

Const. Bonnie Sauve with the Cochrane RCMP says the paddle boarder sustained a" ‘rather large gash to his forehead" that required treatment in hospital and stitches.

She adds that the man will make a full recovery, but the incident could have been much worse.

“We all know alcohol and other substances can impair judgement, your reaction time, depth of perception and your surroundings can seem blurred and so on, and you're not in your right capacity,” Sauve said.

“So you have to be very cautious that when you're taking on that extra responsibility on a jet ski, for example, or on a boat, you can cause a lot of problems and injury, even death, to other people.”

Sauve says the RCMP is doing its best to regularly monitor the area and is committed to enforcing offences that involve those who are recklessly maneuvering their watercraft or putting others at risk.

“We're in a position to write those tickets and charge people criminally too,” she said.

Anyone with information about the incident or may have a recording of what happened is asked to come forward and speak to Cochrane RCMP by calling 403-851-8000.

Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers.

More enforcement and more education

Logan de Boer is a volunteer firefighter for the region surrounding Cochrane and Ghost Lake. He was among the first on scene to respond to the injured man who was struck by the jet ski.

“We have a lot of traffic on the weekends here, like hundreds of paddleboarders, tons of jet skis and people on surf boats, a bunch of sailboats as well,” he said.

“So there's just all of a sudden a massive influx of people here and I don't know whether people don't care or they don't understand some of the proper safety things on the lake, but it seems to be more reports of people having close calls.”

He adds that a higher police presence may also be needed.

“We need a bit more enforcement, RCMP patrol this area but they aren’t here very frequently and some people need a lot more education on how to be more aware of their surroundings.”

Growing calls for boating regulations

The fact that the incident resulted in someone getting injured is also concerning to people like Heather Anderson who was visiting the Ghost Lake Reservoir Wednesday morning.

She questions if regulations such as a no-wake zone with a speed limit should be imposed to prevent incidents like this from occurring.

"There actually are a lot of lakes that will have buoys and have no-go zones for jet skis and boats and whatnot, to protect paddle boarders, swimmers or people that are out on floaties,” Anderson said.

“I haven't noticed that here, and it might be something that they want to put into place on this lake.”

Transport Canada is responsible for mandating any such regulations.

 “Transport Canada is aware of the boating safety concerns at Ghost Lake near Cochrane, Alberta,” the government department said in a statement to CTV News.

“Our thoughts are with those affected by the accident on Sept. 7, 2024.”

Transport Canada adds that Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations (VORR) can be applied for by any level of government (federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal) to ask Transport Canada to restrict the use of pleasure craft or commercial vessels on all waters in Canada.

A list of all restrictions can be found in the schedules section of the regulations to address safety concerns, to protect the environment or protect the public interest:

Restrictions can include:

• Prohibiting all vessels;
• Limiting engine power or type of propulsion;
• Setting speed limits;
• Restricting towing activities on any sporting or recreational equipment, including wake surfing; and
• Prohibiting a sporting, recreational, or public event or activity.

Restrictions can apply at all times or can be specific to certain times of the day, week, month or year.

A local authority wishing to introduce measures to regulate boating activities in its territory must follow the application process set out in the Local Authorities’ Guide, which includes but is not limited to, the requirement to consult with waterway users.

CTV News has reached out to the Alberta Ministry of Transportation and Economic Corridors as to whether it will be making a VORR application for additional restrictions at the Ghost Lake Reservoir.

A response has yet to be received, but this article will be updated once additional information from the province is made available.