Husband Charged with Assault by Watercraft

There really is a Flickr Group for everything! This lovely shot by Vit Novacek was found in the Flickr Boat Propeller Group

A Spokane man has been arrested for assault by watercraft, after he drunkenly ran over his wife with a boat during the holiday weekend. The woman's arm was severed below the elbow during the accident and rescuers were not able to recover her forearm because it sank. The woman was taken to a Spokane hospital and is expected to survive.

We have to admit, when reading this story, we wondered if Spokane police had to create a new crime to charge Robert Kienel with. Assault by watercraft sounded somewhat absurd to us. But, it turns out, assault by watercraft is a Class C felony, the lowest level of felonious offense in Washington State. What other crimes might result in you being charged with a Class C felony in Washington? Online gambling, having more that 40 ounces of marijuana, cockfighting, or 3rd degree assault. Accidentally amputating your wife's arm with a ski boat propeller seems a bit more severe than the other crimes, but we are glad to know that even local lakes have laws.