DATE: Sunday, August 31, 1997               TAG: 9708310081
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH                    LENGTH:   44 lines

PERSONAL WATERCRAFT RIDER INJURED AFTER COLLISION IN NARROWS THE MAN, WHOSE LEG WAS INJURED, HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH RECKLESS BOATING.

For at least the fourth time this summer, water scooters collided Saturday near the Narrows between Linkhorn Bay and Broad Bay, this time injuring one man, police said.

About 2:45 p.m., two personal watercraft - more commonly referred to by the trade name Jet Skis - collided on Linkhorn Bay just east of the Narrows, which is off the end of 64th Street.

Christopher D. Thames, 21, who is stationed aboard the aircraft carrier Enterprise, suffered a leg injury and was hospitalized.

Police said Thames and a 21-year-old buddy, Thomas A. Ciccone Jr. of the 5100 block of Goldsboro Drive in Newport News, were out riding on separate craft.

Thames, riding a 1996 Kawasaki, ``made a sharp turn into the path of a 1993 Yamaha'' being driven by Ciccone, said Lou Thurston, a police spokesman.

The two craft collided. Thames was charged with reckless boating.

Although there have been several accidents in that area, Thurston said the problem is not geographical. Rather, it's generally a case of inexperience or poor judgment on the part of craft operators, as well as congestion.

As the name implies, The Narrows is a narrow passage between the two bays. There is a boat ramp from which many water scooters are launched.

``Almost every one of these accidents have been operator error,'' Thurston said. ``A couple were inexperience.''

He said the most common mistake is a failure by operators to keep track of what is happening around them. ``Most of them just don't look; they don't think about anything coming up around them.''

Virginia Beach has had at least 17 accidents involving water scooters this year, none of which has involved a fatality.

The increasing popularity of the speedy, water-skimming craft has prompted calls for City Council to more tightly regulate personal watercraft. Vice Mayor William D. Sessoms Jr. called for a temporary ban on their use.

That effort fizzled on Aug. 12, when the City Council instead agreed to form a committee to study statewide safety issues and additional regulations. Findings are to be forwarded to the Beach's General Assembly delegation. KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL RECKLESS BOATING

JETSKI INJURIES ARRES

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