The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office reports that Deputies have completed the investigation into the July boating crash on Skaneateles Lake that critically injured an 8 year old girl.
Sheriff’s Detectives along with Deputies assigned to the Sheriff’s Navigation Unit say 33 year old Jamie Wheeler of Homer NY, was operating a17 foot Bayliner boat when the boat’s propeller struck her husband, Christopher Driscoll (32) and her step-daughter Kaelynne Driscoll (8). The two had been riding on an inner tube that was being towed by Wheeler when the inner tube struck a wake, throwing Christopher and Kaelynne into the water. As Wheeler circled back around the boats propeller struck the two, causing serious injuries. Wheeler and Christopher Driscoll’s two year old son was on the boat at the time of the incident as well Driscoll’s brother Andrew (24) and his girlfriend Chelsea Greene (21) both of Pembroke Pines Florida and who were all uninjured.
Field sobriety tests performed at the scene and a blood test later showed that Wheeler was not intoxicated under state law.
On September 6th, Sheriff Conway formally recognized two men, Eric Marcinkowski (40) of Syracuse and David Goetzmann (28) of Skaneateles, for their heroic actions they displayed on that day when the two men rescued Kaelynne and Christopher Driscoll from the water and performed life-saving measures. Since the crash, Kaelynne has undergone several surgeries and received therapy at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Center in Boston. Her father also underwent surgery and was released three days after the crash.
Under the Navigation law, Deputies charged Wheeler with unsafe towing of a person, no or insufficient visual distress signals, no required ventilation for the boat, no type IV throw able device and littering into the water.
She is scheduled to appear in the Town of Skaneateles Court on October 19th at 7:00 pm.