Courtesy of Mick Levin
Audio By Carbonatix
Josh Nieto-Cruz’s vacation had just begun. It was Memorial Day 2025, and the then-18-year-old had rented a jet ski to cruise around Bartlett Lake, in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Fountain Hills. He’d been on the water for about 10 minutes when he cruised closer to shore to look for his family near SB Cove beach.
Realizing he’d gone too far, he began to turn around. Then — CRASH — a boat driven by a Maricopa County Sheriff’s deputy slammed into him, throwing him from his jet ski, taking big chunks out of his leg and arm and, eventually, sending him to the hospital for two days.
An incident report authored by a sheriff’s office investigator placed blame for the accident on Nieto-Cruz, who was a boating novice. But Nieto-Cruz disagrees. He’s now suing the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office in county superior court.
Crucial to that claim is drone footage of the crash, which shows Nieto-Cruz slowing to a near-stop before beginning to change direction. At the same time, a 23-foot sheriff’s office vessel, piloted by deputy John Farnsworth, can be seen booking it at a rapid speed across the water toward Nieto-Cruz, slowing only at the last second in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid a collision.
“You can see that my client is moving at a relatively low speed. You can see that the MCSO boat is approaching at a very high speed,” said Mick Levin, the attorney representing Nieto-Cruz in the case. “My client’s opportunity to avoid this was relatively small, given the speed he was going and the direction of travel. But that deputy’s boat was moving very, very fast.”
The sheriff’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation. A spokesperson did not respond to a question about whether Farnsworth had been internally investigated for his role in the accident and whether any discipline has been leveled against him.
Nieto-Cruz is asking a judge to award him a variety of damages over the crash. In a September notice of claim sent to the sheriff’s office — prepared by a different attorney, who has since handed off the case to Levin — Nieto-Cruz demanded $4 million to settle the matter out of court. That included more than $130,000 for medical expenses.
Courtesy of Mick Levin
‘Faster than I would even thought’
The sequence of events leading up to the crash is laid out in a 52-page incident report authored by sheriff’s office investigators. The report was provided to Phoenix New Times by Levin.
Per the report, Farnsworth and two other deputies on his watercraft noticed Nieto-Cruz traveling too fast on his jet ski inside an area of the lake designated for traveling at a wakeless speed — essentially, going slow enough that a craft doesn’t create any waves. After passing Nieto-Cruz going in the opposite direction, Farnsworth turned his boat around to pursue him, intending to “make contact with the jet ski operator and provide education on wake zones.”
As the sheriff’s office boat made that U-turn, Nieto-Cruz had slowed to a near-stop to scan the shore, looking for his family. Not spotting them, he began to flip direction just as Farnsworth’s boat came speeding at him, leading to the crash.
Deputies pulled him screaming from the water, with gashes in his right arm and leg. Body-worn camera footage reviewed by a sheriff’s office investigator showed deputies blaming Nieto-Cruz for the collision.
“You were going way too fast,” deputy Austin Hermes could be heard telling him. “We were trying to come contact you and you turned right in front of the boat.”
“I was just looking for my family and I did not see you guys coming,” Nieto-Cruz replied, as deputies wrapped his injuries in gauze. “Was that my fault, sir?”
The incident report prepared by sheriff’s office investigators suggests that it was, although the report — and the video of the incident — sometimes undercuts the notion that Farnsworth couldn’t have avoided the crash. The report notes that Nieto-Cruz showed no signs of impairment, but also repeatedly states that he was observed traveling “above a wakeless speed” in an area of the lake where it was prohibited. It also notes that Nieto-Cruz apparently did not look for boat traffic before turning his jet ski around and steering into the path of Farnsworth’s boat.
But the report also suggests in places that Farnsworth wasn’t aware of his speed as he made a beeline toward Nieto-Cruz. When asked by an investigator if he knew how fast he was traveling, Farnsworth replied, “I don’t know.” Later, when shown the drone footage of the crash, Farnsworth told an investigator that it appeared he was going “a little bit faster than I would (have) even thought I was going,” explaining that “I was trying to catch up to him.”
Though Nieto-Cruz’s notice of claim suggested that Farnsworth “did not avoid Josh’s path” and hit him at full speed, the video shows the boat slowing slightly at the point of impact. Additionally, body-cam footage reviewed by investigators showed Farnsworth attempting to steer away from Nieto-Cruz and “moving the throttle down at a quick rate.”
In a final case summary on the crash, sheriff’s deputy Jacob Bowes still put the weight of the crash mostly on Nieto-Cruz, writing that “the collision would not have occurred” (bold in original) had Nieto-Cruz “not accelerated into the pathway” of Farnsworth. However, Bowes added that “the collision may not have occurred” had Farnsworth “been traveling at a lesser speed.”
Courtesy of Mick Levin
Brutal injuries
Per the incident report, Nieto-Cruz suffered a six- or seven-inch laceration to the right knee that was nearly four inches wide, as well as a cut to his right forearm. Photos of his injuries, provided by his attorney, are gruesome. The laceration on his knee went deep into the muscle.
The teen was taken to HonorHealth Deer Valley Medical Center, where he spent two days, according to his notice of claim. He received sutures and had to use a walker when he was discharged. The notice of claim says he incurred $130,519 in medical expenses as a result of the accident.
His injuries dramatically altered his lifestyle, the notice of claim says. Nieto-Cruz played soccer before the accident, signing to play at the community college level for GateWay College. He was listed on GateWay’s roster for the 2025 season but did not play in a single game. Nieto-Cruz also helped his dad on the weekends, his claim states, and “was scheduled to begin employment at an Amazon warehouse within days of the accident but was unable to start the position because of physical limitations.” His family also canceled a planned summer vacation because of his injuries.
“He still has pain,” Levin said. “He has a very disfiguring scar. He has some loss of the ability to move and function as well as he did.”
No hearings have been scheduled in the lawsuit and the sheriff’s office has not yet responded in court. Should the case go to trial, Levin predicts the video of the crash will show jurors all they need to know.
“Had the deputy been paying attention to his surroundings, observed the vessel that my client was on and my client sooner, this wouldn’t have happened,” he said. “I get that they came to the conclusion that my client, somehow or another, accelerated into their vehicle. But they were moving so fast, they couldn’t have avoided it, given how fast they were going. It does seem to me it was reckless speed, given the circumstances.”
