Gold Coast father may lose leg after rogue jetskier hits boat in Broadwater

A FATHER of two is fighting to save his leg and another has a broken leg after a novice jetski rider with 40 minutes’ instruction smashed into their speedboat on the Gold Coast.

A FATHER of two is fighting to save his leg and another has a broken leg after a novice jetski rider with 40 minutes’ instruction smashed into their speedboat in the Broadwater.

The jetski rider, 19, walked away with just a bruised hip after hitting the $40,000 boat.

The impact tore a large hole in Upper Coomera businessman Steve Saillot’s kevlar Bullet 1750 boat which sank.

Mr Saillot’s leg was broken and friend Shane Randall, a Coomera facilities manager for the Commonwealth Bank, is in Gold Coast University Hospital battling to keep his badly cut leg from serious infection caused by fibres from the boat’s hull.

MAYHEM ON GOLD COAST WATERWAYS

Shane Randall in hospital with his daughters after being injured in a boat crash on the Broadwater.

The jetski rider was taking part in a tour by Gold Coast Jet Ski Safaris at 12.30pm on Saturday in Tipplers Passage.

“I just started screaming for one of them to take Shane into shore because he was in so much pain,” Mr Saillot said.

“Doctors are trying to save his leg from infection.”

Mr Saillot, 35, said he saw the group of 11 jetski riders and four guides spraying water into mangroves in the moments before the crash.

Steve Saillot was in his boat on the Broadwater when it was struck by a jetski. His leg was broken during the crash. He is pictured recovering at his Upper Coomera home. Photo: Richard Gosling

“The bloke has gone to do a stupid move and should have throttled out of it but instead he smashed into us,” he said.

Gold Coast Jet Ski Safaris owner Adrian Bond told the Gold Coast Bulletin the injured men and their families had his “deepest sympathies” and that he had suspended the lead guide in charge of the tour until further notice.

However, he defended the company’s training of customers, saying the 40 minutes of preparation and a written test before they hit the water was sufficient.

A picture of the damage caused to the boat by the crash.

Mr Bond also referred to Maritime Safety Queensland figures from 2014 which showed only 10 per cent of incidents involved personal water craft.

Mr Saillot, who recorded the crash with his GoPro camera and goes out on the water most weekends, chose to stay with the boat in the water for about an hour with a broken leg until water police arrived to recover the boat, which he said was an insurance write-off.

Steve Saillot was in his boat on the Broadwater when it was struck by a jet ski. His leg was broken. Photo of him recovering at his Upper Coomera home with Latisha Saillot, 10, Kloe Randall, 6, and Jade Randall, 3. Photo: Richard Gosling

The footage shows Mr Saillot travelling inside the port and starboard markers before a collision, followed by yelling and swearing.

“I stayed with the boat afterwards because the nose was pointing out of the water so I didn’t want anyone to hit it,” he said.

A picture of the damage caused to the boat by the crash.

“It was only the second time I had taken it out after converting the interior to make it more of a social boat. I try and get out on the water as much as I can.

“Right now I’m just focusing on getting back into work. I have a family and a mortgage I have to look after.”

Mr Saillot’s wife Louise, 32, mother of Latisha, 10, was in tears when she was talking with the Bulletin while looking after Shane and Marie Randall’s girls, Jade, 3, and Kloe, 6, while their parents are at the hospital.

Police and Maritime Safety Queensland investigations are still ongoing.

There are about 7300 PWCs registered on the Gold Coast. The rate of marine incident reports for all recreational vessels including PWCs in 2015 was 12.36 per 10,000 vessels, the lowest in 10 years.