He said the dead man, Dale Baker, 51, was "so incredibly unlucky".
"He came down a shallow bit of the river, not the main fly and veered slightly to the left. There were willow branches hanging down just little ones but there was a log behind that.
"It hit him and wedged him in the boat."
Mr Bailey asked one of the other passengers at the scene why Mr Baker hadn't ducked.
"He said that they just couldn't see it. Trees are always a problem on the river bank."
"It's just one of those freak horrible things, a foot to the left or a foot to the right and they would've laughed about it."
He said despite the incident river conditions in Hawke's Bay are generally "pretty good".
"Like everything they've got to be respected. We try to be pretty pro-active, we sometimes go up and cut the trees back."
Mr Bailey could not recall any other fatalities in Hawke's Bay due to jetboating.
The accident happened downstream from a stretch of water about which the Hawke's Bay Regional Council had issued a warning before Christmas.
Engineer for Rivers Vince Bryne said the 1.4km stretch, upstream from the Whanawhana vehicle access point, had become dangerous following recent floods.
Mr Bryne said yesterday that jetboaters had cleared much of the debris in the area by Christmas Day.
"I felt a lot more comfortable about it, they opened it up quite considerably".
He said jetboaters had cut back trees and moved logs to make the area safer.
The Maritime Safety Authority is investigating the accident and said yesterday it is continuing to liaise with police on "evidence from the accident and statements from witnesses".
A spokesman said it was too early to comment further on the investigation.
Emergency services responded to another incident on the Ngaruroro River earlier this year after a jetboat carrying three people flipped, trapping two men underneath.
The 52-year-old driver suffered back and chest injuries and was flown to hospital.
There were also incidents in 2008 and 2012 when jetboaters were injured on the Ngaruroro.
The Maritime Safety Authority spokesman said if a river is popular with jetboaters there may be an increased chance of incidents because of its regular use.
"Regarding the Ngaruroro River and the number of accidents, serious jet boat accidents, particularly those involving fatalities, are relatively uncommon given the popularity of jet boating in New Zealand.
"As with any boating activity, jet boaters should make safety a priority at all times, and be aware of water and river conditions as well as other boats and water users around them. They should drive within the limits of their experience and ability."
