OSHKOSH – At his sentencing hearing Thursday, Jason Lindemann admitted his reaction after crashing his power boat into a two-story paddleboat cruise in July 2022 was one of “self-preservation.”
“I take full responsibility for my actions and the consequences that followed,” the 54-year-old Oshkosh man told the packed courtroom of close to 50 people.
However, Winnebago County Circuit Court Judge Michael Gibbs said Lindemann showed no indication of accepting responsibility after the crash.
“Your actions that day were cowardly,” Gibbs told Lindemann before delivering his sentence of five months in jail and 150 hours of community service. “And that is what’s most offensive to the boating community.”
On July 9, 2022, just before 10 p.m., Lindemann was operating a high-speed powerboat containing six passengers when he collided with a large, slow-moving paddleboat owned and operated by On The Loos Cruises on the Fox River in Oshkosh, between the Oregon Street and Wisconsin Street bridges.
Forty-one passengers and three crew members were aboard the paddleboat. No one was severely injured, but multiple people received treatment for injuries in the days and weeks following the crash. On the Loos Cruises has been unable to operate since the crash over two years ago due to the damage caused to the paddleboat, owner Jeff Loos said at the sentencing hearing.
After briefly pulling up alongside the paddleboat, Lindemann drove away, despite shouts and pleas from people on the paddleboat and nearby boats for him to stop, multiple witnesses testified at Lindemann’s jury trial in June.
Lindemann was arrested after employees at Pioneer Marina found an unauthorized powerboat parked in the marina. Employees told law enforcement they saw what looked like blood and a decoration believed to have come from the paddleboat. They also recognized the boat as belonging to Sweetwater Performance Center, which is owned by Lindemann.
At trial, a jury found Lindemann guilty of nearly all charges against him: two felony counts of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, 11 misdemeanor counts of failing to render aid in a boating accident resulting in injury and one misdemeanor count of negligent operation of a boat. They found him not guilty of a 12th count of failing to render aid, after determining not enough adequate evidence existed that one of the victims experienced injuries.
Assistant Attorneys General Emily Thompson and Tara Jenswold argued at trial that Lindemann had been drinking throughout the day prior to getting behind the wheel of his boat, and left the scene of the crash to avoid getting in trouble for operating while intoxicated. GPS data and video footage showed Lindemann drive away after the crash, then drop off some passengers — one of whom had a head injury — at shore, and return to the middle of the lake, where the boat stayed with its lights off for the rest of the night, over seven hours.
At the sentencing hearing, Thompson said it was only sheer luck that people did not experience worse injuries, and if the angle of the crash was any different, “people certainly would have died,” she said.
Lindemann’s defense attorney, Scott Ceman, disputed the claim that Lindemann was drunk. He said Lindemann attempted to stop and provide aid after the boat crash, but left after people shouted threats and threw beer bottles toward the powerboat, to get his injured passenger to safety.
Before delivering Lindemann’s sentence, Gibbs expressed skepticism to Ceman’s claim that no evidence existed Lindemann was intoxicated at the time of the crash.
“Mr. Lindemann was drinking something. Not sure how much, not sure if he was drunk. I’m not sure because he fled the scene,” Gibbs said.
Gibbs sentenced of five months in jail and three years of probation was between the prosecution’s and defense’s recommendations. Thompson requested Lindemann be sentenced to nine months conditional jail time and six years of probation. Ceman requested 18 months of probation.
The jail time, Gibbs said, is important in part to deter other boaters from stopping to help after a crash, knowing that it is a jailable offense.
Gibbs also dismissed a case in which Lindemann had a forfeiture for operating a boat while intoxicated. Thompson said the prosecution filed a motion for its dismissal because it “involves a fair amount of circumstantial evidence.”
RELATED: Oshkosh man convicted of all but one charge against him in 2022 powerboat-paddleboat crash
Under conditions of his probation, Lindemann must maintain absolute sobriety and take part in any alcohol abuse programming and counseling recommended by his probation agent. He also cannot operate a boat during his term of probation.
Additionally, Gibbs ordered Lindemann complete 50 hours of community service each year of his probation — one hour for each person on the paddleboat and powerboat.
Victims who spoke at the sentencing hearing and victim impact statements submitted to the court described not only physical injuries and medical fees, but also lasting emotional trauma from the crash.
One woman said in addition to doctor visits and therapy sessions, she has experienced anxiety from hearing boats and smelling lake water.
Another woman said she was concussed in the crash and called it was one of the scariest days of her life. She said she believes if Lindemann hit the boat just a few feet over, “none of us would be here.”
A restitution hearing is scheduled for 1 p.m. Jan. 22.
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Oshkosh man sentenced to jail for 2022 powerboat-paddleboat crash
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