The accident

Some will question whether or not I have the right to write this article. Some will question whether or not I have the right to exist at all. I have no choice in the face of social media but to set the record straight. I was born to a father a very resilient victim of abuse as a child and at the age of 18 bought a piece of his own Shangri-La on lake called Pemichangan on a 3 acre piece of land where at the age of 30 he would start to build a cottage I was then about 2.

He of course was an experienced boater as we all had to be to protect me. My father was on the island his parents my grandparents on the main land. Driving a 9.9 to and from was literally almost a birthright and I started driving a boat at the age of 5. A bit premature yes but my father had 3 girls and he was going to raise us not to be afraid of anything and I jumped to that challenge. I continued to drive to the point that I have now owned 5 boats. 9.9's were just the beginning. I have loved boats and the water since I was very young. Maybe that is because I have an anylphylatic allergy to hornets a risk every day at the cottage on an island boats and my ability to drive them kept me safe.

I imparted that same fearlessness of the water onto my own children. From the age of about 5 they watched me also drive and I taught them too how to drive and how to navigate the channel that was the distance between their grandparents cottage and my aunts and ours.

When my children were about 6 they built a relationship with Emilio Dutra. He was at our house every week-end it seemed and I encouraged it. We genuinely loved him he became an extension of our family. I fed him, clothed him and not too many people would tell you otherwise. He was very simply the equivalent of my 3rd child. Yes there were times I didn't like it. I wanted time with my own kids but they adored him so it was.

In 2018 a WE the same as any other my son Jack wanted to spend a WE with Emilio at the cottage. I had long since purchased my own cottage on Lake Pemichangan what was also my grandfathers cottage and on the same lake where my father also owned a cottage. He asked me and I said ok. I owned a Malibu a powerful boat that was a sports boat. Again they had been driving boats with me since the age of probably 9.

On this particular WE in August it was a beautiful day until the skies turned black and a storm was approaching. They were up there with 2 other friends 4 - 18 year old boys. They decided to go tubing like I had taught them and like they had come to know their entire life. I had bought a boat to teach them how to really drive a boat. It had a raised platform intended for boater safety. Prior to the malibu I had owned a Baja a very unsafe boat with 2 props and exhaust that was one of the reasons why I sold it.

While they were tubing Emilio fell off the tube. He then self admittedly couldn't make eye contact with the boater or so he thought, and he went under the water with now dark skies. My son didn't see him and hit him in the water. I was in Ottawa at the time on business. It was not my intention to be at the cottage that WE. When the accident happened both my boys moved into action. They pulled him in and Tourna keyed his wounds and drove as fast as they could without cell service on the lake to the cottage.

The police and ambulance arrived in time to save Emilio's life in large part on account of my son who wasn't driving who that day raced down the street at the cottage which is in a very rural area to find them. The alternative would have been that they might not have gotten there on time. Emilio lost his hand and his leg because of that accident. I raced in Ottawa to meet them at the hospital. My son that was driving spent the day alone at the cottage with first responders being interviewed and tested for alcohol use and reckless driving it was ruled to be a very tragic accident with no alcohol.

It has been reported that I amended the accident scene. I wasn't there. I didn't go there until I met the first responders and insurers who asked me to meet me there 2 weeks later. I was concerned about my boat when the dust settled. I asked rather opportunist family members to go and check on it and they are in media and pursued me and partnered with Emilio's family. The boat was of course covered in blood and uncovered and backed into a rock so after I received clearance from the police I decided to have the boat driven to the marina for storage and I sold it as soon as I could.

What do you do after that reporting on social media? I did try to kill myself. I got into my car and turned on the exhaust. The reporting and social media was ruthless and I never thought I could get through it. Neither has my son. He has suffered with PTSD ever since. Unable to work, unable to accept what he will always believe was his fault. This is about all I can write about it but my words are important given when you do a search on me it is all that I and you can see. It was a terrible accident involving an experienced boater who did his absolute best to save his best friend. A boy that deserves the opportunity to live a life as do I.

I thank-you for reading this and giving me the opportunity to set the record straight. All we have ever have done was to love Emilio. His parents decided that we shouldn't have any contact and they pursued me financially. I am not sure that I blame them although it was an insurance claim something I always anticipated was a risk because I always had curious children at the cottage turning the ignition on on my boats.

Thanks for reading. Just know the truth. There was no accident scene amended. Long before my family had arrived the police had been there for 2 days. This is not intended to underscore what Emilio has endured it is simply intended to tell the truth in the face of social media about what actually happened and to give me and my son a voice. I have asked the The Ottawa Citizen to take down the article and they have been unresponsive. We all have the right to tell the truth about our experiences on social media. In fact we have to. The family Anne Van Dusen broke my heart.