The boat pilot who tried unsuccessfully to make it under the Stillwater Lift Bridge as it was closing on Friday night has been issued a citation for operating a boat in a reckless or negligent manner.

A St. Croix County sheriff’s office captain said Thursday that John Brooksbank, 60, of Marine on St. Croix, was heading north on the St. Croix River and was “trying to beat the bridge” when the accident happened just after 7 p.m.

Brooksbank and his wife, Robin, were in their 37-foot Chris Craft Roamer, along with another couple, Chris and Jeanine Jesmer from Stillwater. Jeanine Jesmer suffered a laceration to her left leg above the knee.

“He said they had just left Sunnyside Marina (in Oak Park Heights), and he was trying to make it before the bridge closed,” Capt. Jeff Klatt said.

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“He ran back to the pilot house and hit the stop button, Klatt said. “As the bridge slowed to a stop, he heard a crunch.”

The collision forced the shutdown of the bridge until Minnesota Department of Transportation workers could determine that it was not damaged. The bridge reopened later that night.

There was no indication anyone on the boat was impaired, Klatt said.