Child Dies After Sea-Doo Switch Flips in Virginia

Same Circumstances as Florida Accident, Sadder Outcome

The child in the Florida accident was 15 months old; the one in Virginia was nine. This illustration shows how the “fence” around a SeaDoo Switch keeps a lifevest-wearing child underneath the capsized vessel and up against the floor, while hampering efforts by rescuers on the outside. In real life, the underwater view would not be illuminated like this. It would be dark enough to make it nearly impossible for someone on the outside to see if someone were trapped inside. (This Switch model is actually a size up from the two involved in accidents described here.)

Last month, Loose Cannon reported about how a 15-month-old Florida girl came within an inch of losing her life after a recreational vessel with unusual handling characteristics flipped upside down on the St. Johns River.

After enduring more than 10 minutes pinned underwater, Vianca Grullon was saved by the fortuitous arrival of two firefighters who happened to be nearby—guys that deserve medals.

The September 22 story caught the attention of a Norfolk personal injury lawyer named Emily Brannon, who called because she is planning to file a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the Sea-Doo Switch on behalf of a Virginia family. Their daughter had recently died under near exactly the same circumstances as the St. Johns River case.

Flipping a Switch: A 'Quirky' Boat and the Accident That Nearly Killed a Little Girl

Brannon said that there might be other deaths and injuries attributable to the Sea-Doo Switch design. She talks about a class-action suit against Bombadier, the Canadian company that makes Sea-Doo (also referred to as BRP for Bombadier Recreational Products.)

The Virginia nine-year-old was declared dead on July 4, two days after her dad’s new Switch “literally flipped” on Lake Anna, a popular recreational venue about 72 miles south of Washington, D.C. Her death actually preceded the Florida accident, which happened August 25.

Lake Anna is one of the largest freshwater inland reservoirs in Virginia The lake is easily accessible from Washington and cities of Northern Virginia and is one of the most popular recreational lakes in the state. (Google Earth)

News coverage of the Lake Anna accident referred to the vessel as a “pontoon boat.” While the full designation is “Sea-Doo Switch Pontoon,” any family resemblance is superficial.

Yes, like a pontoon boat, the Switch is composed of a flat deck attached to multiple hulls. However, a better description would be: A tri-hull, jetski-pontoon hybrid that can go 35 mph and carry between five and nine people, depending on model size. (Both accidents in question involved the 13-foot, five-person model.) The vessel has handlebar steering and a throttle like a jetski’s.

Point being: It may be difficult to assess the number and nature of Switch accidents worldwide unless they are distinguished from conventional pontoon boats by reporting sources.

Loose Cannon has obtained the report from the Lake Anna investigation by the Virginia Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which had put nine officers on the case.

Investigators seemed mystified as to how the Switch being driven by Nadim Hussain had flipped as it conveyed his wife and three children and two other adults back from dinner at a waterside Mexican restaurant.

Hussain, 39, blew a 0.0 on the breathalizer. His friend who also had time at the helm had a blood alcohol level well below the legal limit—a single margarita’s worth. A forensic examination showed no evidence that the boat had hit anything in the water. There was no mention of high winds or rough water.

Going Slow

Because of problems with the Rotax waterjet engine, the Lake Anna Switch never went faster than 8 mph on the way home, which was confirmed by DNR’s examination of data in the boat’s Garmin multi-function display. (Yes, your chartplotter can testify against you.)

Owner and friends all told DRN investigators the same story.

"At some point, I don't know what happened, but the boat just literally flipped." Mr. Hussain lifted up his left hand, imitating the vessel sitting flat on the water, and he showed the outside of the hand tilt downward, imitating the vessel's port side first going under water. Mr. Hussain said within a matter of seconds the vessel flipped entirely upside down and everybody jumped everywhere to get off of the vessel.

A female adult passenger (name redacted) was also interviewed:

(She) told me during this time there had been a moment when water started coming over the bow of the boat, as if there was too much weight in the bow. (She) told me they staggered the way people were sitting on the vessel to redistribute weight, and make for a more even ride. (She) said that after they moved people around is when water came over the bow again, and this time the vessel flipped over and threw everyone in the water.

Officer William Crockett, after interviewing Hussain, wrote:

Hussain said the boat flipped without warning except for an orange check engine-style light. I then told Hussain that boats do not just flip on their own, and I asked if they felt any scrapes or bumps or anything of that nature when the flip occurred, to which he stated they did not feel anything; the boat just flipped on its own.

Over Capacity?

In an effort to make a case for charging the father with reckless operation, DNR investigators determined that the four adults exceeded the maximum weight capacity According to the DNR, the manufacturer specified a limit of 705 pounds. The four adults weighed a total of 820 pounds, according to drivers license data.

However, an operators manual obtained by Loose Cannon lists the max weight as 825 pounds.

The children had been towed in a tube on the way to the restaurant, during which speeds of up to 21 mph were recorded. Their return vovage was after dark, so the children had to be aboard and would have have added even more weight toward the stated capacity.

Hussain, like the father in the Florida case, was not an experienced boater. DNR officers learned that he had not taken an approved boater education course, but Hussain said he had taken private lessons from Belle Haven Marina in Alexandria.

Two weeks later, a DNR investigator explained its case to the Louisa County attorney, who declined to prosecute Hussain.

As Loose Cannon wrote in its previous story, Switch owners had noted the tendency for the boat to become unstable while decelerating. In this case, the boat was going pretty slow to begin with. This raises the question—also addressed in the earlier piece—about the possibility of ballast water in the outer pontoons having had a destabilizing effect.

Saving the Children

It was night when the Lake Anna Switch flipped. Hussain told investigators that, once in the water, he tried to account for his family and friends. He saw one of his daughters but not his three-year-old son. He found the boy stuck under the bow area of the overturned boat. He was pinned to the upside-down deck because he was wearing a lifejacket, as were his siblings. The boy was okay.

That left his nine-year-old unaccounted for. This is how investigators recorded Hussain’s story:

(He) said he did not initially see her but said she was a good swimmer and had her lifejacket on. (He) said he thought she could have floated off or could have been anywhere. He and the other individuals called for her, and they thought she may also be stuck under the vessel. (Hussain) said approximately 10 minutes after the vessel capsized he swam under the vessel and his leg felt her near the center of the vessel. (He) said the lifejacket was stuck to the vessel and it took several tries to pull her above the surface.

Just like the little girl stuck on the underside of the Stitch that flipped on the St. Johns River.

Underwater Cage

Which underscores another issue: The clear vinyl-like “fence” enclosing the Stitch platform negates the value of a lifejacket on children caught in a capsize. The bouyancy of the vest pushes them up against the floor of the boat, and the 30-inch fence prevents them from rolling out from underneath. It also impedes rescue by people on the outside, as we saw in the St. Johns case.

(A retired Coast Guard rescue swimmer was asked whether an adult wearing a life jacket would be able to maneuver out from underneath a boat in these circumstances. Mario Vittone said he believes that a fit adult would have the ability to escape wearing a lifejacket.)

Once on the surface, the unconscious little girl was pulled onto the overturned hull, where the others performed CPR for a half hour until rescuers arrived. The EMTs restored her a pulse as she was taken to Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. The next day, doctors found no evidence of “cerebral electrical activity,” and the day after that she died.

BRP did not respond to Loose Cannon’s requests for reaction to the St. John’s accident. However, the company did comment when a Loose Cannon partner news outlet in the United Kingdom, Marine Industry News, picked up the story:

BRP spokesperson, Emilie Proulx, says Sea-Doo Switch watercraft comply with all American Boat & Yacht Council and U.S. Coast Guard regulations regarding flotation testing and weight capacity. “This product has been rigorously tested throughout its development phase and still is today. As such, BRP strongly believes that the Sea-Doo Switch watercraft is a well designed and safe product,” Proulx says.

The DNR investigation report noted that a BRP “legal team” had examined the Switch from the Lake Anna case. The Florida case is still under investigation by Fish & Wildlife officers.

How a local weekly newspaper covered the Florida case.