Deputies from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit and Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) are investigating a WaveRunner crash that occurred Sunday afternoon near Johns Pass in Madeira Beach.
According to investigators, the crash occurred on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at approximately 2:30 p.m. Daniel Patrick Grubert, 48, of Piedmont, NY, was operating a rented 2024 Yamaha WaveRunner when he began racing another personal watercraft. Deputies say Grubert was not looking ahead and took his eyes off his direction of travel. When he turned back and saw an imminent collision, he jumped off the WaveRunner, which then struck another rented Yamaha WaveRunner operated by 45-year-old Walter Wodzien.
Wodzien had two juvenile passengers, ages 7 and 8, on his WaveRunner. All three were thrown into the water and rescued by Madeira Beach Fire Department personnel. Both children were transported to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital —one with life-threatening injuries and the other with non-life-threatening injuries. Wodzien was not injured.
Deputies say Grubert showed signs of impairment and performed poorly on field sobriety tests. He was arrested and charged with two counts of Boating Under the Influence Causing Serious Bodily Injury and one count of Reckless Operation of a Vessel. Grubert was booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing.