Severe Eye Injury in Saco River Incident

By M. Dirk Langeveld , Staff Writer
FRYEBURG - A Massachusetts man was charged with reckless conduct after seriously injuring a New Hampshire man's eye with a water balloon Sunday.

Jonathan D. Buell, 26, of 108A Myrtle St. in Boston was initially charged with elevated aggravated assault for the incident. He was held at the Oxford County Jail on $50,000 cash or $100,000 surety bail. After his arraignment Monday at the South Paris District Court, the charge was reduced and the bail lowered to $2,000 unsecured cash.

Eric A. Nelson, 26, of Manchester, N.H., was struck in the eye Sunday by a water balloon launched from the direction of Buell's campsite. According to a report filed by Cpl. Richard W. Murray of the Fryeburg Police Department, Nelson was taken by Fryeburg Rescue to a North Conway hospital with lacerations to the eye and surrounding area.

Nelson was later flown to the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. On Monday, Nelson's mother told Murray that Nelson had suffered a broken ocular bone and lacerations to his nose and eyelid.

Murray states that a physician at North Conway hospital told him Nelson may lose his eye due to the extent of the injury. He states that doctors at the Massachusetts hospital told Nelson's mother that it is unlikely Nelson will be able to see again out of the injured eye.

According to an affidavit filed by officer D. Shane Reininger of the Fryeburg Police Department, Reininger was working paid detail at Fiddlehead Campground when he heard a report of an injured person on the property shortly after midnight.

Reininger stated that several people reported that Nelson had been injured. Nelson was bleeding but coherent, and said he knew he was hit by a water balloon because he felt the water splash.

Nelson's friends identified Buell's campsite as the location the balloon had been fired from. Reininger and officer Carol Clark of the Fryeburg Police Department approached the campsite and confirmed that a group there had been firing water balloons.

The officers confiscated two water balloon slingshots, a homemade 200 pounds per square inch water balloon cannon, a portable air compressor, and three water balloon remnants that matched remnants found at the site of Nelson's injuries.

Chief Wayne Brooking of the Fryeburg Police Department said Nelson was 67 feet from where the balloon was fired. He said the water balloon cannons and slings are designed for long-range firing, and the proximity contributed to Nelson's injuries.

Buell stated that he had been firing balloons over the Saco River at other campsites. According to Reininger's report, Buell was unaware that he had injured anyone and said that "there was no way that any of his water balloons could have caused injuries."

Brooking said the slings require three people to operate, but that Buell was believed to be "instrumental" in the launch that caused the injury.

Buell told Reininger that he had consumed four beers earlier in the evening, but Reininger stated that he did not show signs of alcohol impairment. He said Buell was cooperative during the discussion.

Brooking said he has seen injuries caused by water balloons, but none so traumatic. He said a similar incident occurred on the Saco River last year when a woman received a black eye from a launched balloon. The person who fired the balloon was charged with assault.

Frederick J. Lavitman, 26, of Framingham, Mass., was charged with aggravated reckless conduct in the incident. He was held at the Oxford County Jail on $25,000 cash or $50,000 surety bail, but the charges were later dropped by the District Attorney's Office.

Brooking said there was probable cause for Lavitman's arrest, but not for prosecution.

Brooking said two officers from the Fryeburg Police Department work paid detail at the campground on weekends. The Saco River is a frequent site of weekend arrests, and four people were arrested by the department on Saturday.

Buell and Nelson declined to comment.

Quoted from http://www.sunjournal.com/story/225369-3/OxfordHills/Severe_eye_injury_in_Saco_River_incident/:

SunJournal.com - Severe eye injury in Saco River incident

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