Click here to download our free mobile apps for breaking news and weather.
FULL REPORT
UPDATE @ 11:14 p.m.: A West Carrollton man arrested in Friday night's Jet Ski accident on the Great Miami River initially fled the scene and was arrested in Franklin by Franklin police, ODNR spokeswoman Brooke Betit said.
Matthew Whittaker, 35, had been sought on a warrant out of Montgomery County, said Betit, who is based in Columbus.
Betit said police at the accident knew who they were looking for because people at the scene were able to describe the suspect. That information took police to Franklin, she said. Whittaker was booked into the Montgomery County Jail late Friday night, pending the formal filing of a charge.
ODNR will decide what charge or charges, if any, will be pursued after the agency’s investigation is complete, she said. The Jet Ski is in ODNR custody.
David Shortt, 55, of Moraine, was pulled out of the water at the low head dam in West Carrollton, where there is a boat ramp, by Whitaker and another person, Betit said. Shortt had been swimming in the area of the boat launch when he was struck, she said.
Whittaker was operating the personal watercraft that hit Shortt in the head just before 6:30 p.m., Betit said. Shortt has been taken to Kettering Medical Center, where he was said to be in stable condition. When whio.com checked at 10:30 p.m., hospital officials told us Shortt was still in the emergency room.
There were two witnesses, both of whom were with Shortt and Whittaker, she said, noting that Shortt and Whittaker know each other.
West Carrollton police and Five Rivers MetroParks rangers were dispatched to the accident.