Arrest made after jet ski crash injures 2 children in Pinellas County
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MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (WFLA) — A man was arrested after a jet ski crash near Johns Pass in Pinellas County left two children injured on Sunday, authorities said.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, at 2:33 p.m., a rented 2024 Yamaha WaveRunner operated by 48-year-old Daniel Patrick Grubert was racing another jet ski.

The sheriff’s office said Grubert was not looking ahead or paying attention to where he was going.

Credit: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office

Investigators said that when Grubert turned around, he realized a crash was about to occur and jumped off the WaveRunner. The jet ski crashed into another rented Yamaha WaveRunner that was being operated by 45-year-old Walter Wodzien.

The WaveRunner being driven by Wodzien had two child passengers aboard, a 7-year-old and an 8-year-old.

All three were ejected from the jet ski and were recovered from the water by the Madeira Beach Fire Department.

The children were taken to a nearby hospital, one with life-threatening injuries and the other with non-life-threatening injuries as a result of the crash.

Wodzien was uninjured.

According to investigators, Grubert showed signs of impairment and performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office arrested Grubert and charged him with boating under the influence (BUI) causing serious bodily harm and reckless operation of a vessel.

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