Mass. woman charged with drunken boating in connection with crash on Pelham lake
Dec. 5—A Massachusetts woman has been charged with drunken boating in connection with a crash last summer on a Pelham pond involving a personal watercraft and a boat, officials said.
New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol said in a news release that Ivonne Pena, 31, of Boston, Mass., was allegedly drunk when she drove the watercraft into an anchored boat on Long Pond in Pelham last July, injuring herself and her passenger.
On July 25, Pelham police received a 911 call at 3:07 p.m. reporting the collision. Local police and fire personnel responding to the scene rendered lifesaving first aid to the two riding the watercraft, New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol said in a statement.
One victim was taken to a local Massachusetts hospital and the other was flown by medical helicopter to another hospital, they said.
Marine Patrol, which responded to Long Pond to assist with the investigation, said the personal watercraft was being operated by a female driver with another female passenger aboard.
At high speed, it struck a boat that was floating with the engine off and four occupants on board.
Three of the passengers were able to jump off the boat prior to being struck, Marine Patrol said. No one aboard suffered serious injuries.
New Hampshire Senior Airman Amy Granfield, a public health technician with the 157th Medical Group, was enjoying a day off wake surfing off the boat that was hit with her brother John Granfield, and friends Joe Farris and Eric Mayer.
When the personal watercraft slammed into the boat, the three were knocked overboard.
Pena and her passenger ended up in the water severely injured. One was floating in and out of consciousness and the other had severe injuries on her leg causing major blood loss.
Granfield swam to the boat to find her brother John, Mayer and Farris all alive with minor injuries. She then got to work helping the injured women out of the water.
Granfield and the rest of her crew restarted their boat and drove Pena and the passenger to the closest beach, where a police officer was waiting. Granfield and the officer applied a tourniquet and transferred the patient to the paramedics.
"Granfield's quick thinking and courage to help saved a life," said Maj. Gen. David Mikolaities, Adjutant General New Hampshire National Guard. "It's these values and virtues under the uniform that matter and remind all of us what it truly means to serve."
In September, Granfield, her brother, Farris and Mayer received Town of Pelham lifesaver awards at a meeting of the Pelham Board of Selectmen.
An arrest warrant for Pena was issued Oct. 6, after a toxicology report showed her blood alcohol level was allegedly 0.121 at the time of the crash, investigators said.
Pena was arrested by Boston police and held as a fugitive from justice in Massachusetts pending rendition back to New Hampshire. She was transported back to the Granite State by the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office and the New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol on Dec. 1, and arraigned on Dec. 2 by the Hillsborough County Attorney's Office on charges of reckless conduct and aggravated boating while intoxicated Felony B.
She pleaded not guilty.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Marine Patrol Sgt. Steve O'Connor at 603 227-2114 or email him at Stephen.J.O'Connor@dos.nh.gov.
