Penticton RCMP are investigating the boating skills of a man who drove his 8.5-metre day cruiser onto the Penticton City Wharf on Okanagan Lake on Tuesday night.
Police said the incident happened at 10:30 p.m. when the boat hit the Rotary Park pedestrian wharf.
Several witnesses enjoying a stroll on the wharf had to scramble out of the way.
There were two people on board the boat including the operator, a 45-year-old Penticton man. His passenger suffered a small cut on her face, but there were no other injuries.
A breath sample indicated the operator’s blood alcohol levels were at the cusp of being just over or under the legal limit, police noted.
“It certainly is a pretty jarring visual reminder for all boaters to operate their boats in a safe manner and to ensure they are familiar with their surrounds while under way,” said Corp. Dan Moskaluk in a statement. “We are very fortunate that by a stroke of luck that nobody was seriously hurt or killed.”
Investigators are considering charging the man with unsafe or dangerous operation of a vessel.
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