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A nine-year-old boy died and his six-year-old brother was seriously injured, after their father accidentally crashed his jet ski.

In November we originally shared that Queensland father, Shane Parkes, 34, was driving a jet ski at Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, with his six-year-old son Dylan on Saturday morning when tragedy struck, reports Daily Mail.

Police believe that Mr Parkes lost control of the jet ski at a high speed and crashed into his other son, nine-year-old Tobi, who was playing in the shallows of the water with his mother.

Tobi’s body disappeared underwater and horrified family members scrambled to rescue him, but they were unsuccessful.

A specialist diver squad caught a flight from Brisbane to Townsville and then drove almost ten hours inland to Lake Moondarra.

They found the child’s body within half an hour of searching.

Queensland Police Superintendent Kev Guteridge told ABC News that the jet-ski was being ridden at a very high speed, but 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.’

“We’ve interviewed a number of witnesses. We are trying to piece together exactly what occurred over that time frame,” he said.

Dylan, who was being treated for suspected fractures and internal injuries, has been flown to Townsville in a stable condition, reports ABC NEWS.

UPDATE 25 January 2017

Mr Parkes was charged with one count each of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, operating a ship while unlicensed, operating a ship whilst not registered, and drug driving, reports ABC news.

He appeared in Mount Isa’s Magistrates Court, which was told that a drug test on Parkes returned positive for cannabis.

The court also heard Parkes was on bail for alleged drug trafficking at the time of the accident.

Parkes was remanded in custody and will reappear in court in April.

Our thoughts are with them.

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  • So tragic indeed ! This incident will remain with you for the rest of your life. Bless this family !

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  • How tragic. That will be such a hard thing to have to live with for the rest of his life.

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  • A terrible situation. One boy died and the father was positive to cannabis. If he hadn’t used drugs, this horrible accident would have probably never happened. :-(

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  • Only people who know the area or have visited the lake know how big it is.
    Either the jet ski was being ridden too fast or the throttle stuck wide open. I have seen it happen with a car when it was barely moving. Bent the front of the car and steering. That could easily have been a fatal accident too.
    In one sentence it says there has been no trace of the body. In another it states he was found my searchers in a 1/2 hour from when they arrived.

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  • This would be devastating. Even if it turns out he did something silly, it’s a horrible accident.

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  • Jet skis should only be used in large open spaces, such as oceans. They shouldn’t be driven around in small lakes, especially where young children and families are swimming.
    Sorry for your loss, I feel for the family!

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  • Shane is my cousin and he loves those little boys like I’m sure every parent loves there kids and people can speculate what he did or didn’t do I know the story this is a tragic acident that my cousin his partner and little boy Dylan have to live with . People should just be nice there’s enough negativity in this world.


    • I’m so sorry for your loss. What a hard time for you all! :-(

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  • That was reckless. Just because it’s water, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t obey the water rules and safety (unless he lost control).

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  • My heart goes out to the family.

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  • What an awful accident to poor :( condolences to the family

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  • such a horrible tragedy! Condolenses to all who loved them

    Reply

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