Finding into death of Courtney Faith Keast

12y · Female·Head injury

Courtney Keast, age 12, died from catastrophic head injury sustained in a boat collision at Lake Eppalock. She was struck by another vessel while sitting in the back of a ski boat. Both operators were experienced, licensed, and travelling at appropriate speeds for skiing (20-25 knots), but collided due to failure to maintain proper lookout and awareness of COLREGS (Prevention of Collision Conventions). The coroner found inadequate marine safety education in boat licensing, insufficient speed/distance rules for towing activities in narrow waterways, and insufficient legal consequences for COLREGS breaches. The death was not preventable from a clinical perspective but was preventable through better marine safety regulation and operator education.