Nine-Year-Old Boy Dies After His Dad Accidentally Ran Over Him On a Jet Ski

A nine-year-old boy, who was playing in shallow water, has died after his father accidentally ran over him on a jet ski.

Dad, Shane Parkes, 34, from Queensland, was driving a jet ski with his six-year-old son, Dylan on the back, at a family outing at Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, on Saturday morning when he crashed into his nine-year-old son, Tobi, who was playing in shallow water with his mother.

Police believe that Mr Parkes lost control of the jet ski that was at a high speed.

After the accident, Tobi’s body disappeared underwater and family members immediately scrambled to rescue him, but failed.

An extensive search of the area with a helicopter, ground and swift water rescue crews, was also conducted but the boy was not found until early on Sunday morning.

A specialist diver squad from Brisbane quickly went to Townsville and then to Lake Moondarra, to help search for the boy and successfully found his body within half an hour of searching, beginning at first light yesterday.

The Courier Mail reported that Queensland Police Superintendent Kev Guteridge said the investigation could take a long time. “There were quite a lot of witnesses, so we are collecting statements from all of them and piecing together the information we have at the moment,’ he said.

He also told ABC News that police were unsure of the circumstances of the actual crash. “For some reason, the jet ski has collided with the bank, which also resulted in the young nine-year-old boy being struck by the jet ski at high speed, tragically as a result of that, the boy we believe was thrown in the water, he hasn’t been sighted since. The father and son who were located were thrown onto the bank after the impact,” he said.

Mr Parkes, who suffered head and spinal injuries, and his son, Dylan, who sustained spinal and leg injuries, were taken to Mount Isa hospital on Saturday and stayed the night in a stable condition.

Police are waiting for Mr Parkes to be properly treated before taking an official statement from him.

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk and 9news.com.au