AÂ boat operator was arrested after allegedly circling another boat and then ramming into it while the two vessels were on a lake in Michigan over the weekend.
The boat rage incident occurred Saturday when a man drove a small red aluminum speedboat up to a larger white boat on Lake St. Clair, then rammed into it from behind, as can be seen in a cell phone video posted to Facebook.
(Video: WXYZ-TV)
Macomb County Sherriff’s deputies arrested Timothy Kennedy of New Baltimore, who was accused of operating his boat while drunk, shortly after the incident, which was reported by the couple on the larger boat, according to WXYZ-TV.
The couple, who wished to remain unidentified, were on their way back to the dock when they noticed a man they did not know following them. He circled around them at high-speed before coming back from behind, slamming up over the stern as a woman on the video can be heard shouting.
Boat Assault on Lake St. Clair
Boat Assault on Lake St. Clair [YESTERDAY]
Posted by Bad Boat Drivers on Tuesday, July 2, 2019
“We received a 911 call from the victims’ boat stating that they had just been hit and that the suspect boat took off,” Sgt. Renee Yax of the Macomb County Sherriff’s Office told WXYZ.
Amazingly, Kennedy pulled around again and appeared to flick off the couple in an obscene gesture as they sped away. The 39-year-old continued to follow the larger boat for a few minutes as it headed back to the dock. Though no one was injured, the couple stated that their boat was damaged in the unprovoked attack.
Kennedy was arrested later at Brandenburg Park and arraigned Monday on charges of operating while intoxicated and malicious destruction of property. Yax noted that the legal alcohol limit for boat operators is the same as that for regular vehicle drivers, and that designated drivers should be in place for those on a boat as they are for car drivers.
Kennedy had served time for second-degree criminal sexual conduct in 2011, according to state records. He was given a $5,000 bond and is scheduled to be back in court on July 15.
Viewers shared their reactions to the wild video on social media.
This idiot is lucky these people didn’t turn the boat around and chase him…they would have split that dingy in two
— Michael Warren (@Michael57307316) July 3, 2019
Many comments on Facebook speculated about the cause of the man’s rage, while others condemned his dangerous actions regardless.
“No one gets that angry without a reason. There’s another side to this story that we don’t know about,” one Facebook user commented.
“It’ll be my guess the larger boat probably almost capsized the smaller boat,some of the people running those bigger boats have no consideration for other boaters,” another wrote.
“I’m sorry, but you cannot justify his actions. He was drunk…… end of story!!” a Facebook user countered. “Why didn’t he confront the boater at the dock at the end?”
“I would have sacrificed my anchor to put him in the bottom of the lake,” another noted.
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Frieda@bizpacreview.com
Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.
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