A Tasmanian coroner has urged people operating jetskis to ensure they are appropriately licensed, as he handed down his findings into the death of a St Leonards man.
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At about 2.30pm on January 2, 2017, Luke Jesse Rice, 22, was killed in a jetski accident at the Lake Trevallyn Dam.
Coroner Simon Cooper found Mr Rice had some experience operating a jetski but appeared to have little experience riding them in stand-up mode, which is how he was operating the water craft at the time of the crash.
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Mr Rice had been riding his jetski, a Seadoo Jetpilot, with his friend, Dylan Guy, who was operating his own jet ski.
Baden Glen Apted, who Mr Rice didn't know, eventually joined the pair, following behind them on a Bombadier GTX jetski.
In his affidavit, Mr Guy said that at one point Mr Rice seemed to lose his balance.
"The [jetski] started to slow down," he said.
Mr Guy estimated that Mr Apted would have been trailing about five metres behind Mr Rice when the latter began to slow down.
Mr Apted's jetski hit Mr Rice's in the rear, going up over the top of the jetski and falling to the right side of it, according to Mr Guy.
"When the collision happened, Luke went flying through the air," Mr Guy said.
An autopsy concluded that Mr Rice's death was caused by blunt force trauma resulting in brain injury, with severe internal injuries.
Tasmania Police investigated the circumstances around Mr Rice's death, finding that neither Mr Rice nor Mr Apted were licensed to operate jetskis.
"The evidence as a whole satisfies me to the requisite legal standard that the crash was caused by Mr Apted, who, while unlicensed and inexperienced, rode a PWC significantly faster than the five knot speed limit and failed to keep a safe distance between himself and Mr Rice," Mr Cooper said.
"This tragic case illustrates a fatal lack of attention to proper safety culture."
Mr Cooper conveyed his sincere condolences to Mr Rice's family and loved ones.