Boat collision resulting in death(s)

fc3

fc3

Just another eclectic geek
TECHNICAL Contributor
Nov 12, 2006
5,334
Northern NJ
Boat Info
1999 Sea Ray 330DA
Twin 7.4 MPI (310 propshaft HP) V-drives
Engines
Twin Mercury Marine marinized 7.4L L-29 V8s
Cast iron block w 4-bolt mains
Early this morning, my wife and I were sleeping aboard Just Ducky when we were awakened by a loud noise. After first thinking that the A/C was failing horribly or a pump or something else broke, I realized that we were hearing helicopters. I looked outside and sure enough there was a helicopter hovering over the end of the river (less than 2 miles from the marina.) They were searching the area for a long time, then left. This morning I saw more local and state police boats in the area than I have in years. Also, a local police officer and state police officers were in the marina checking the boats.

Later found out that some idiot ran over another boat on the river, killing one person and seriously injuring the others.

When my wife and I arrived home, I found the below listed articles on the 'net. Making things worse. the man who was killed and his wife live in town. We know them, especially Bonnie, who served on the town council and serves on the planning board.

If anyone in the area knows of a boat that recently was damaged, please call the State Police at (732) 899-5051. The operator killed someone!

Best regards,
Frank C

http://www.1010wins.com/AUDIO--1-Dead--4-Hurt-in-Crash-on-Metedeconk-River/2715531

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/08/hitandrun_boating_accident_in.html More on the "print this page."
 
Last edited:
I hope they find that prick and hang them by their short hairs!
 
Frank,

Although I hesitate to speculate, I suppose that alcohol might have been involved with the other boat driver if he never stopped. I am really sorry this happened Frank and I hope they find the other boat and driver soon.

Dave
 
had something like that happen here a few years back. the guy drove his damaged boat nearly 25 miles to pull it out on a remote ramp so no one would see the damaged boat. They caught him anyway.

probably a good thing the boat was a boston whaler as well as it wouldn't sink even if damaged. The others could have drowned if the boat went down.
 
Sorry to hear about your friend Frank. I hope they catch the idiot that did it.
 
Some years back my father was out in his Bass Boat on Lake of the Ozarks, He was coming around a bend and a 29 foot speed boat "Not sure what kind it was" Came around the bend to close to the shore and at high speed, my dad tried to react but didnt have time and the boat hit the front of his boat, knocked a huge hole in the hull and threw himover the console to the front of the boat... he said he stood up and watched as the boat continued across the main channel wide open, he said he remembers thinking "isnt this guy gonna stop" so the boat kept going, and then still at full speed ran into a boat dock and exploded into a ball of fire.. Dad said it was like something out of a james bond movie, at that point he didnt know what to think but OH MY GOD!!!... then about 30 seconds later he heard a voice from the water saying "well arent you gonna help us" and he turned around and a couple was in the water, both occupants had been thrown from the boat and they were both intoxicated... My Dad was lucky that day, usually a 29 foot speedboat vs an 18 foot Ranger Bass Boat doesnt turn out so good for the bass boat

Just goes to show that you should always be aware of other boaters and dont get overly intoxicated if your operating, chances are this a$$hat was drunk, I hope they catch em

Wow, looking at that picture reminds me of Dads boat, it was hit in the same spot and had a hole nearly that big
 
Last edited:
LawDawg79 said:
......Just goes to show that you should always be aware of other boaters and dont get overly intoxicated if your operating, chances are this a$$hat was drunk, ......
Click to expand...


I'm glad your Dad didn't get hurt, but your advise to not get OVERLY intoxicated implies that it is OK to drink a LITTLE and then operate you boat.....You may find a few red balls in your coffers for that one!!!!!
 
Terrible.

Gives boating a bad name.

Clearly, the time (well after midnight) is a contributing factor. I bet there is more to this incident than merely alcohol.
 
you misunderstood me... I think its ok to have a few beers while operating the boat, say one MAYYYYBE two an hour and usually this is included with munchin on the mass amounts of food and snacks that we take for weekend cruises... but nothin much more than that, I.E. if your feeling like your buzzin then dont operate the boat.... now when Im on a friends boat and hes driving then I will be pounding beer down and probably a few shots too

but even at 1-2 beers an hour you are techinically intoxicated, and most people are quite capable of operating the boat... but alcohol affects everyone different.. Myself, hell im frickin Irish-Scottish, ill drink most people under the table :) everyone should know their limits and make the right choice to drive or drop anchor
 
Last edited:
LawDawg79 said:
Some years back my father was out in his Bass Boat on Lake of the Ozarks, He was coming around a bend and a 29 foot speed boat "Not sure what kind it was" Came around the bend to close to the shore and at high speed, my dad tried to react but didnt have time and the boat hit the front of his boat, knocked a huge hole in the hull and threw himover the console to the front of the boat...
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear this, my condolences.

I have a good friend here at work that was also hit by another boat with drivers who were drunk. His Dad was visiting from out of town and had brought his brand new boat to our area to fish. They were out after dark in a very well lit part of our river (the bridge at Solomons Island, MD for those that are familiar). They were fishing sitting in the rearward facing seats when this jetboat came flying around them in a large circle, then directly at them. Before they could react the boat hit theirs from the port forward quarter, up and over the both of them and landed on the other side, severely damaging the boat. My friend had a huge bruise on the side of his forearm but that was it. When the police asked him how he knew exactly what happened, he said while he was sitting there, he "saw the registration letters of the boat right here about this far from me", pointing his hand about six inches above and to the right of his head! The guys swung back around and were *very* intoxicated. Friends boat was a total loss.
 
Just reread the NJ.com article.

The comments are . . . . pretty bad. Only read them if you are looking for excuses to kill yourself.

From the description of where this event occurred. . .between mainland and Herring Island. . . wow. It is hard to get on plane in those waters, even in daylight. Lots of shallow water. Lots of Narrow channels. Lots of no-wake bouys. At night. . .I would worry about running down one of the no-wake bouys. On July 3rd, we went from the Meteconk (sp) over to the Manteloking bridge around 10pm. I had a hard time spotting the bouys even at idles speed and having each one of those things plugged into the GPS. I am definately the type of guy who will run on plane at night. . . but no where near where this incident occurred. Running on plane at night requires wide open water. . .and this area does not qualify.

And spotting a 18' Boston Whaler at night, especially if it is close to the shore lights, would be no picnic either. I presume this boat had red/green lights in addition to the white all around. . .but those small boats can be hard to spot in these waters. Those are EXACTLY the boats I worry about when on the water at night.

I am NOT making excuses for the guilty driver. I am just saying that this is not an easy area to navigate at night. . . and the driver made the situation worse by being an idiot. Darn right he needs a lawyer. Even if they can't prove he was drunk. . . (a very likely reason he waited to 'fess up). . . there are plenty of ways to throw the book at this guy.
 
Last edited:
Imagine the guilt this guy had taking the boat out of the water and putting it in his garage then calling his lawyer. I wonder how people like that live with themselves......

-John
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,112
Messages
1,426,287
Members
61,026
Latest member
NeilS
Back
Top