Blog Post

Boat Operator to Face DUI Charges in Manteca, California Boating Accident


July 10, 2008
Topic: Boating Accidents

Even as he was being wheeled into surgery, Manteca Fire Marshal Marvin Mears was more concerned about the Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast he was in charge of on Friday than he was about the serious injuries he received in a boating accident on Tuesday. A hugely admired former firefighter, Mears had received serious injuries in a ski boat accident in the San Joaquin Delta.

The ski boat collided with a sailboat at midnight on Tuesday. Mears was severely injured, and had to be rushed to emergency surgery. The operator of the ski boat, it was later found, had been operating the boat under the influence of alcohol. 32-year-old Christopher Baker has been arrested for driving the vessel while under the influence of alcohol, and causing serious injury.

There is no report yet on Mears' condition following his surgery. The UC Davis Medical Center ICU unit where he had spent the days since the boating accident has been full of well-wishers, including former firefighter buddies who streamed in to show their support.

Alcohol use plays a big part in boating accidents that occur around California. Maybe its the feeling of being out on the water on a bright and sunny day that gives many boat operators the illusion that "drunk driving" is not really drunk driving if it's on the water. Since the act of boating itself seems recreational, it's easy to make the mistake of thinking that you can behave as if you were on a holiday. The truth is that you need your faculties on the water as much as you would if you had to avoid a drunk driving accident on the road. Christopher Baker either isn't aware of the dangers of driving a vessel while drinking, or couldn't care less. We think it's the latter.

The authorities on their part need to do more to highlight boat safety so that accidents like these can be avoided. With the kind of speeds that ski boats can reach, the kind of potential danger and injuries that we're looking at is quite extreme. A joy ride doesn't take long to turn into a nightmare when you have an unsteady hand on the wheel.

As for Baker, he has to be held responsible for Marvin's injuries and his medical bills. Drunk driving accidents like this highlight the dangers of mixing alcohol with driving, and we can send out a strong message to future potential drunk driving offenders only if we are willing to make an example of offenders like Blake.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of boating accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.