ASCENSION PARISH —- Officials have arrested one person in connection with a boat crash that injured a family of four on the Amite River in July.
Records show that 63-year-old Nanette Normand of Denham Springs was arrested on Aug. 10 and booked into the Ascension Parish Jail on the following charges: careless operation of a watercraft, four counts of negligent injuring, and record and reporting requirements ( failing to file official operators report).
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries, careless operation of a vessel brings up to a $300 fine and 30 days in jail. Negligent injuring and failing to file an official operators report carry up to a $500 fine and six months in jail for each offense.
According to jail records, Normand’s bond was set at $10,000 on the charges of negligent injuring. She posted bail and was released on her own recognizance on the other charges.
It was around 8:20 p.m. on July 18th when multiple agencies, including Ascension & Livingston Sheriff’s Offices and Wildlife & Fisheries responded to the Amite River near Fred’s for the crash.
It was a head-on crash that involved three boats, in which at least four people were injured, including two children and their parents. The impact tossed all four from the boat. Their injuries ranged from serious to moderate with at least one person taken via Airmed to a hospital. The children were rushed to Children’s Hospital.
MORE: “It’s a miracle”: Family of four ejected after boat crash on Amite
The young woman and mother of the two children, Kyli Everett, received the worst of the injuries and received staples in her head, along with needing surgery and a ventilator.
While she is now breathing on her own, she is unable to verbally speak and said she’s re-learning how to talk. She is able to type and write, but she is also having to relearn how to walk.
“It’s going to be a long journey,” she said.
The other adult injured, her fiancé Baylin Wyatt, and the two children were all released from the hospital the day after the incident. Their little boy initially needed stitches, which have since been taken out, and the little girl had minor cuts to her leg.
Long-term, Everett said she should be able to make a full recovery: “I won’t be able to look down anymore. Lost 30% mobility in my neck. But overall should make a full recovery.”
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