KEY POINTS:
The father of a boy run over by a jetskier wants the skier prosecuted for reckless driving which, he says, could have killed his son.
Colin Green's son, 12, was among a group of four children swimming about two metres from the shoreline at Ohiwa Harbour in Ohope on Sunday afternoon, when a jetski left the ski lane and ran into him.
The boy, who had been kneeling in the water, was hit at full force and sustained injuries to his chest and back.
Mr Green said that a padded life jacket his son was wearing and the fact that he was on his knees and not under the water when struck, had prevented more severe injuries and even death.
"If it had been a head that was hit - one of the kids - they could've been unconscious or smacked dead on the spot... [The driver's] behaviour is just unacceptable."
The boy's aunt Kerry Begg, whose daughter, 7, was also in the group, said the driver was "being smart and showing off" in front of his own children - the other two members of the quartet.
"The jetski was coming in and I thought: 'Gee he's coming in fast'. I thought he was doing that to be smart in front of the kids but he just ploughed into them."
Mrs Begg said the jetskier's "double speed" was irresponsible within an area where swimmers - particularly young children - were in.
"He hit him with so much force he pinned him down. My nephew was quite badly winded. If it had been my daughter, the force of it would've broke her back or killed her."
Whakatane police yesterday said they were still investigating the
incident and were yet to decide whether or not the jetskier would be prosecuted.
But Mr Green said he would push for charges to be laid because the jetskier had acted irresponsibly.
He said more responsible thinking, rather than new laws, was needed to prevent incidents like this.
"It's more the fact that these people who are being irresponsible with their machines - they should be prosecuted because it puts others in danger," Mr Green said.
"People on jetskis just don't give a toss. They're just out there having a good time."
Mrs Begg acknowledged that the jetskier had apologised and helped the 12-year-old out of the water.
However, having blamed a malfunction with the jetski's throttle - which controls the machine's accelerator - she was disappointed to see him back on the water minutes after the incident.
"That was the most irresponsible thing. If something was wrong with the throttle, then he shouldn't have been out there towing children on the jetski," Mrs Begg said.
