The man responsible for the 2022 speedboat accident on the Fox River in Oshkosh that injured 11 people was sentenced in Winnebago County Court on Thursday, August 22, 2024. The sentence has angered many locals.

Jason Lindemann, 53, was found guilty on 14 counts, including two counts of second-degree reckless endangerment, 11 counts of failure to render aid after a boating accident and one count of negligent operation of a boat. Yet he was sentenced to only five months’ probation in prison and three years’ probation.

There were dozens of incredulous comments on social media, including that this was “an absolute judicial travesty” and “that is hardly an appropriate sentence for what he did.”

According to the indictment, Lindemann was operating the boat on the Fox River shortly before 10 p.m. on July 19, 2022, when it collided with a paddle steamer with 44 people on board. The investigation into the incident revealed that Lindemann was traveling in excess of 40 miles per hour in a no-wake zone at the time of the accident.

After dropping off his passengers, he spent the night on Lake Winnebago. Witnesses said he had been drinking alcohol before the accident.