Hawkesbury locals are calling on police to patrol waterways in the area more often after the death of a woman in a boating accident, northwest of Sydney
The woman, aged in her 30s, died after the boat in which she was travelling crashed into a riverbank near Pitt Town Ferry Rd at Wilberforce on Sunday night.
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The driver of the boat was not injured.
Emergency services initially struggled to find the remains of the vessel, which had crashed into vegetation near a cauliflower farm.
When they arrived, the attempted to revive the female passenger, but she died at the scene.
The 38-year-old driver was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.
Parts of the boat they were travelling in were stained with blood.
NSW Police said they were investigating the circumstances of the crash.
A local who was using the river on Sunday said people were often “negligent” on the river.
“It’s heartbreaking, you never want to hear anything like that,” he said.
“Everyone’s having a good time, so they’re probably thinking the rules don’t apply to them. We’ve seen a few incidents yesterday (Sunday) where people didn’t have too much common sense, that’s for sure.“
Hawkesbury locals say river users are complacent because of a lack of police presence in the area.
“They know they can get away with it basically,” local Paul Harrigan, said.
NSW police said Water Police patrolled all major and rural waterways and the NSW coast targeting speed, alcohol use and reckless driving.
“Marine Area Command conducts large-scale police operations in different waterways around the state including the Hawkesbury River,” a spokesperson said.
“Local commands also patrol areas with frequent boat usage such as boat ramps, piers and beaches looking for those drivers who would put others at risk on the water.”
