Oshkosh Man Facing 21 Charges Related To Boat Crash

The man suspected of running his high powered boat into another boat full of people on the Fox River in Winnebago County last summer will face 21 charges related to the crash.

The Wisconsin Department of Justice filed a complaint against Jason Lindemann of Oshkosh Wednesday, December 21, 2022, charging him with two counts of Second Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety, 18 counts of A Boating Accident Involving Injury – Fail to Render Aid and one count of Negligent Operation of a boat.

On July 9, shortly before 10 PM, Oshkosh Police were called to the area between the Wisconsin Street and Oregon Street bridges over the Fox Rive. Lindemann’s speedboat had reportedly hit the commercial On the Loos paddlewheel cruiser with 44 people on board.

According to the complaint, witnesses said they heard people on Lidemann’s boat being rowdy and saw it travel at full throttle as it sped up the river.

Another witness saw the power boat ricochet off the right off the paddleboat and a short time later the paddleboat headed to shore where the passengers got off the boat.

About 15 minutes later, the power boat passed by the cruiser. The witness heard someone from shore saying, “You hit me, you need to stop, you need to come over here.”
“In response, he heard a slurred voice coming from the power boat saying, ‘I didn’t see you.’”

The witness saw the power boat go downstream and never stop to check on the paddlewheel cruiser.

The next day, officers found the powerboat involved in the crash at Pioneer Marina in Oshkosh. It had damage and what appeared to be dried blood inside the boat. A deputy also found a case of White Claw on the boat.

GPS data recovered from the boat show it was travelling at 46 mph in a no wake zone on the river.

The boat was reported to be going 31 mph when it hit the paddlewheel boat.

Injuries were reported on both boats according to the complaint.

Witnesses said Lindemann was the only person driving the boat that night and that he had been drinking heavily before the incident.

Lindemann is due back in court on February 7th.