Drunk boatie jailed after ploughing into swimmer on Australia Day at Mannum, South Australia

A mother of two has been jailed for ploughing into a swimmer in a drunken speedboat crash at Mannum in South Australia’s Murraylands.

Amy Lohf, 44, was behind the wheel of a speedboat, towing two water skiers, while more than three times the legal blood‑alcohol limit on Australia Day in 2025.

WATCH ABOVE: Mannum mother jailed over hitting swimmer while operating a boat drunk

During a sentencing hearing on Friday, it was revealed Lohf’s boat struck a young female swimmer, pulling her into the propeller and causing devastating injuries.

The victim was dragged into the propeller and suffered catastrophic injuries. The court heard it was a miracle she survived.

The court heard Lohf had shared four bottles of champagne with three friends that day and got into the boat “seemingly without a care in the world”, prosecutors said.

The former veterinary nurse pleaded guilty to causing serious harm by dangerous driving.

The judge jailed her on Friday to two years, eight months and 13 days behind bars, with a non-parole period of one year and four months.

He said Lohf accelerated in an area where swimmers were nearby, had to be told to stop the boat, and was unaware of what she’d done — behaviour he said “underlines the state of her intoxication.”

The court heard the mother of two is genuinely remorseful, but has been targeted and ostracised by members of the Mannum community.

She now avoids public places — including the local supermarket — and is effectively confined to her home.

The judge ruled the offending was far too serious for home detention or a suspended sentence.

She will be eligible to apply for parole in September next year.