May 5, 2017 – Dodge Co., WI – On Thursday, May 4, 2017 at 11:08 p.m., the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office responded to airboat crash on the flooded portion of the Beaver Dam River, north of the Ranch Road boat launch in the Township of Shields.
Preliminary investigation shows Erik Joost, 23, from Waukesha was operating a 2006 airboat when it struck a tree.
Joost was ejected and suffered minor injuries. Zachary Azmani, 24, from Hales Corners was ejected and suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries.
Ian Wolfe, 27, from West Allis was ejected and suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries.
A fourth passenger Robert Krueger, 24, from Waukesha was not injured in the crash. The occupants were able to get back into the boat and drive it to the boat launch.
First Responders met them there and began treatment.
Azmani was transported by Watertown Paramedics to Aurora Summit Hospital in Oconomowoc. Wolfe was transported by Waterloo EMS to Aurora Summit Hospital.
Speed and low visibility appear to be factors in the crash.
Assisting at the scene was: Watertown Paramedics, Watertown Fire Department, Waterloo EMS, and Dodge County Sheriff’s Office.
The crash remains under investigation by the Dodge County Recreation Patrol and the Wisconsin DNR.