JOSHUA WOLFSON Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, June 2, 2009 12:00 am
A Casper woman who was on the boat that crashed into a canyon wall at Alcova Reservoir last month broke bones in her left leg and face, her mother said Tuesday.
The impact threw Jamie Steward, 27, from the boat and knocked her unconscious, according to her mother, Shawn Killinger. Steward ended up face down in the water, but was rescued by an emergency medical technician who was boating nearby.
"She's so lucky to be alive," Killinger said.
Authorities have released limited information on the May 16 incident, which is being investigated by the Natrona County Sheriff's Office and the Wyoming Game and Fish. The crash happened at about 6:30 p.m. when a boat carrying four people struck a rock wall in the reservoir's Fremont Canyon area.
Killinger said all four of the boat's occupants - her daughter and three men - were thrown from the vessel in the impact. Steward, who has been friends with the boat's owner since junior high, had been sitting on the right side of the craft before the crash.
Steward was wearing a life jacket she had borrowed during the day because of her concerns about how the boat was being piloted, Killinger said.
An EMT and his girlfriend, who happens to be a nursing student, were fishing nearby and headed to the crash to help. The EMT grabbed Steward by her life jacket and pulled her out of the water.
"He knew right away her femur was broken," Killinger said.
Steward did not regain consciousness for a few hours, her mother said. She, along with the other people in the boat, were taken to Wyoming Medical Center by ambulance.
In addition to her fractured femur, Steward suffered a broken tail bone, nose and cheek bone. She also suffered cuts and bruises to her face.
She underwent surgery to repair the broken leg and spent four days in the hospital. Doctors performed a second operation more than a week after the crash.
Killinger says her daughter has experienced some memory problems and can't recall the crash. Doctors expect her leg will take three months to heal.
The sheriff's office has not released the names of the other three boaters. They are two 31-year-old men and a 22-year-old man. All three live in the Casper area.
Their medical conditions are unavailable.
The vessel, a 30-foot 1979 Excalibur speed boat, was recovered and is being kept by investigators.
Reach crime reporter Joshua Wolfson at (307) 266-0582 or at josh.wolfson@trib.com. Read his blog at tribtown.trib.com/JoshuaWolfson/blog.