A boat skipper responsible for injuring 12 passengers when his tour boat crashed into the Horizontal Falls in 2022 has been fined $12,000 over the incident, while the company he worked for copped a $15,000 fine.
Edward Whisson was the master of Falls Express, a tour boat with 25 passengers on board when it hit rocks at the popular tourist destination.
Edward Whisson was the skipper of the Falls Express that crashed into rocks at Horizontal Falls in May 2022.Credit: 9 News Perth
It had been driving at high speeds through a narrow 7.5-metre gap as part of a regular tourist experience in WA’s remote Kimberley. Charges were also laid against Journey Beyond Adventures, trading as Horizontal Falls Seaplane Adventures, which operated the boat tour.
On Thursday, both Whisson and the company he worked for were sentenced in Perth Magistrates Court, weeks after the court heard shocking victim impact statements from those on board, recalling how they thought they would die after the crash left them trapped under chairs and nursing significant injuries and broken bones.
Footage of the crash was shown to the court, including the moments leading up to the impact, where passengers could be seen enjoying the boat traversing the natural phenomenon at high speed.
Confronting footage from the vantage point of a camera on the top of the vessel captured the moment the boat hit the rocks head-on at high speed.
The Falls Express crashed into rocks, injuring 12 passengers, in May 2022.Credit: File photo/Supplied
During the sentencing on Thursday it was revealed the company had paid out $2 million in civil claims brought by the victims and that they were still picking up the medical bills for some of them.
Magistrate Janelle Scutt said that she found that they had responded compassionately and responsibly to the incident.
She also told the court Whisson had been seconded by the company from driving a Rottnest ferry in order to work on Journey Beyond’s safety management systems.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.