Accidents of the Week - April 4, 2026

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Father Killed, Son Hurt in Biscayne Bay Hit-and-Run

3/25/26 – Miami, FL

A father was killed and his son was injured after they were struck by a boat in what authorities said was a hit-and-run in Florida’s Biscayne Bay on the night of 25 March.

The Miami Beach Fire Department said crews responded to a water rescue at around 8:11 p.m. involving a small vessel that was involved in a hit-and-run incident.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials said the father and son were aboard a seven-foot dinghy in the Meloy Channel, near Indian Creek and Biscayne Pointe in Biscayne Bay, when they were struck by another vessel, which fled the scene, officials said.

First responders were able to bring both victims ashore at a nearby residence and rush them to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital. The father did not survive. 
 

Empty Boat Left Circling After Man Goes Overboard 

3/21/26 – Wake Forest, NC 

An angler was safely rescued from a mishap on North Carolina’s Falls Lake on the afternoon of 21 March, but his empty boat kept circling on the lake for about a half hour, officials said.

Around 2 p.m., an emergency was reported in Wake County, North Carolina, near Falls Lake’s Bartons Creek boat ramp, according to Blake Wright, assistant chief of the Northern Wake Fire Department.

No Kill Switch: Fire Chief

A fisherman in a small boat cast a net while fishing on the lake, Wright said. The net caught on something in the lake and the man fell out of the powered boat in shallow water, he said.

The small outboard engine aluminum boat, which was moving at the time, did not have a kill switch, Wright told local reporters. The fisherman was quickly helped out of the water by a person nearby, Wright added.
 

Divers Recover Body of Missing Boater in SC River 

3/21/26 – Charleston Co., SC

 

Rescue divers from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) reportedly recovered the body of a 44-year-old boater who went missing on the Stono River in Charleston County, South Carolina, on 21 March.

This was after the Coast Guard received reports of an unmanned 21-foot skiff, launching a search that included air and surface crews.
 

Four Rescued After Small Boat Runs Aground

3/21/26 – Newport Beach, CA

The Newport Beach Fire Department sprang into action to rescue four people on board a small boat that ran aground off the California coast on 21 March.

Fire officials said the vessel drifted ashore due to mechanical issues around 5 p.m. near Newport Beach’s Ladder Rock.

“Thanks to the quick action and expertise of our Newport Beach Fire Department Lifeguards, a potential disaster was averted,” fire officials said on Facebook. The lifeguards reportedly swam a line through the rough surf, secured it to the bow of the boat and worked with lifeguard boat Sea Watch to pull the vessel back out to deep water.

All four passengers on board suffered minor injuries but did not need to be taken to the hospital, officials said. The rescue was a coordinated effort by Newport Beach Lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
 

Tritoon Flips Over with 11 On Board

3/24/26 - Fort Myers, FL

High winds and choppy waves near Florida’s Fort Myers Beach turned a relaxing day on the water into a rescue mission when a double-decker Tritoon boat flipped over, throwing 11 people into the Gulf.

People reported it happening on the afternoon of 24 March. The Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) said its marine unit responded to the scene after the boat overturned due to wind and waves, and all occupants were out of the water. One witness said about 11 people were on the boat when it overturned.

Nearby Boaters Rush to Help

A good Samaritan, Deanna Spidel, told reporters she had helped save two of the passengers from the boat. "We had one girl, and she was an older lady that was just panicked. I don't think she was really a good swimmer. They got a life jacket on her, and we threw her a floatable, and we tied a rope to it so we could pull her in," Spidel recounted.  

Drone footage captured the boat upside down as nearby boaters rushed to help. According to LCSO, minor injuries were reported in the incident. 

 

Woman, 37, Dies After Kayak Capsizes 

3/21/26 – Marin Co., CA

A woman who died after her kayak capsized on Northern California’s Tomales Bay was identified as 37-year-old Brigitte Manspeaker of Los Angeles, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office. Manspeaker was transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital on 21 March, where she was pronounced dead.

Manspeaker and an unidentified man, who told authorities he was her boyfriend, had been kayaking with a dog on Tomales Bay. Around 6:10 p.m., the Marin County Emergency Command Center received reports of an overturned kayak close to Mendoza Beach, near Point Reyes National Seashore.

Victim ‘Slipped Out’ of PFD: Survivor 

The Sonoma County Sheriff's Office's helicopter was nearby and arrived within 12 minutes. The office released footage of the water rescue that shows a man with a black-and-white dog clinging to an orange kayak in the water. The rescue crew used a 100-foot longline to reach them from the helicopter.  

"The victim, who was suffering from cold exposure, was brought via longline to the shore," the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office wrote in an Instagram post. "The victim told the Flight Officer that his girlfriend had slipped out of her personal flotation device and had drowned."

Manspeaker was located approximately 200 yards from the kayak. The sheriff's office wrote that she was "face down in the water and being carried by the outgoing tide." After she was brought to shore, Marin County Fire Department paramedics assumed patient care before Manspeaker was transported to hospital.

National park rangers later reached the kayak by boat and safely returned the dog to shore, where it eventually was reunited with a friend of the group.

 

Five Rescued After Boat Sinks in Lake Pontchartrain

3/22/26 - St. John the Baptist Parish, LA 

Three women and two men were rescued from Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana, after their boat began taking on water on the night of 22 March, according to the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff's Office. No one was injured, authorities said.

The department dispatched a rescue team after receiving a 911 call from boaters who said their vessel was sinking after hitting an object in the water.

The team searched the lake and found the vessel near the Manchac Lighthouse in the northwest corner of the lake, according to authorities. The boaters were standing in ankle-deep water that was rising quickly.

Minutes after the five adults were safely rescued, their vessel capsized and sank below the water, according to the Sheriff's Office. The boaters were later transferred to a relative's boat. 

 

Coast Guard Rescues Overdue Boater in Alaska

3/23/26 – Table Bay, AK 

An aircrew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka located and provided assistance to the owner of the motor vessel Sierra Dawn in Table Bay, Alaska, on 23 March after he was reported several days overdue by a family member.

The boater’s battery had died, leaving the vessel anchored in the bay.

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew located the vessel and deployed a rescue swimmer to assist the owner of the Sierra Dawn. A Coast Guard helicopter pilot looked down at the anchored vessel as the swimmer approached and swam toward the boat to provide assistance.
 

 

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