Woman showing improvement after boating accident

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis woman is still in critical condition, but showing signs of improvement, following a boating accident on Sunday.

52-year-old Rebecca Harris is currently at St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital according to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Indiana Conservation Officer Investigators are currently working on a reconstruction of the accident.

According to DNR, Harris and her husband were on a pontoon on Geist Reservoir when they were struck by a speed boat carrying two adults and five children.

All seven passengers in the speed boat were uninjured and were not thrown from their boat. The children were all wearing life jackets.

According to IFD, the driver of the speed boat said he saw the pontoon and tried to steer away.

The husband in the pontoon boat was thrown from the pontoon, but was able to lift himself back into the pontoon boat to administer first aid to his wife.

Indiana Conservation Officer Jet Quillen said safety practices can prevent accidents.

“If you just make sure you have space between your boat and the other boat and make sure you’re operating at a safe speed and try to anticipate what the other boat operators are going to do, accidents can be avoided,” Quillen said.

Boater Dan Wise, who said he’s been visiting the reservoir for the more than fifty years, said he isn’t surprised by the accident.

“I expected something like that to happen a lot sooner than now,” Wise said.

Wise said he wasn’t around the reservoir during Sunday’s crash, but he said it can get crowded and isn’t always safe on weekends.

“You know you always have to stay alert,” he said. “You have to watch what the other guy is doing. You can’t just go out there and do what you want.”

Officials are still investigating the crash.