Accidents of the Week - December 27, 2025
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Father Dies Saving Son’s Life After Kayaking Accident
12/6/25 – Riverside, Co., CA
A 54-year-old father was able to save the life of his 7-year-old son after a boating accident in Riverside County, California, that left him dead.
In a news release, officials at California State Parks said peace officers responded at around 4:15 p.m. on 6 December to reports of “screaming and persons in distress” in the water near Moreno Beach, at Southern California’s Lake Perris State Recreation Area. Investigators said that the 54-year-old and his son, neither of whom were identified at the time, had been playing offshore when their kayak capsized.
Father Kept Son Afloat Throughout Ordeal
“State Park peace officers quickly arrived on scene via patrol vessel and immediately recovered the man, who was unconscious and partially submerged,” officials said. The 7-year-old boy was in distress but conscious and holding his father, helping to keep himself above water.
Investigators noted that the father heroically kept his son afloat throughout the ordeal, “supporting him until rescue personnel arrived.” The child and his father were rushed by ambulance to the Riverside University Health system, where the 54-year-old was pronounced dead. His son remained hospitalized for evaluation.
Parkgoer Michelle Juarez witnessed a portion of the attempted rescue: “I would say that it was at least 45 minutes that CPR was going on. We could hear them from the boat them saying, ‘Take the child to the ambulance,’” she explained. “I just pray for the family.”
Neither the father nor his son wore life jackets, investigators said, despite the fact that at least one was available on the vessel.
Out-of-Control Boat Crashes at California Harbor
12/9/25 – Los Angeles, CA
No one was injured after an out-of-control boat slammed into another docked vessel at Southern California’s Dana Point Harbor on 9 December.
Boat Captain Jerry Wetzler witnessed the crash and heard the fiberglass shredding and metal twisting. "I heard this tremendous noise," he said. "I thought it was a plane coming down."
Harbor patrol officers said the boat's new owner was learning how to operate it when he inadvertently pushed the throttle forward. Video from other boaters showed it heading straight toward a second boat that was tied up, but no one was on board.
"All I could see was, stay out of the way until this calms down because obviously, it's out of control," Wetzler said.
Wetzler said he heard yelling and screaming. The out-of-control boat hit the other and a smaller one before they drifted. "All of a sudden, a guy jumps in off the dock, I think he jumped off the dock, and swam over and got on the no. 2 boat," Wetzler said.
Boaters Rescued in Canal Crash after Lights Parade
12/6/25 – C & D Canal, MD/DE
What started as a magical night for the boating community on 6 December ended with a scary accident in Chesapeake City, Maryland.
It was just before 11 p.m. when reports came in for a boat crash with ejection and injuries in the Chesapeake and Delaware (C&D) Canal. It came several hours after a beloved lighted boat parade.
The Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) responded to the C&D Canal in Chesapeake City, where a 30-foot center-console boat had struck a fixed marker. There they found three people injured on board.
The fourth occupant, a 48-year-old woman, was ejected from the boat and later found on the shore. She was flown to Shock Trauma in Baltimore by helicopter in serious condition. The three other victims, ages 53, 46, and 52, were taken to Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, to be treated.
‘Dense Fog’ Believed to Have Contributed to Crash
There was a large response to the canal by investigators and emergency crews. Volunteer Fire Company #1 of Chesapeake City responded with their fireboat along with Cecilton and Delaware City marine teams. NRP and the U.S. Coast Guard were on scene as well, and a Maryland State Police helicopter transported the badly injured woman.
NRP spokesman Hunter Dortenzo explained that the marker the boat struck was an unlit navigational marker maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the south side of the canal.
Dortenzo said there were life jackets on board the boat as required by law, but the boaters weren’t wearing them. Visibility may also have been an issue. Dortenzo added, “Dense fog is believed to be a contributing factor, however continued investigation into the cause of the accident is underway.”
One Hospitalized After Boats Catch on Fire in Harbor
12/13/25 – Put-In-Bay, OH
One person was hospitalized after two boats went up in flames in Ohio’s Put-in-Bay harbor at around 2:00 p.m on 13 December. Officials said one boat caught on fire, started to drift away, and caught another boat on fire.
The U.S. Coast Guard said the owner of the first boat was burned and jumped into the water. Nearby civilians and paramedics rescued him and helped get him to safety. He was flown to St. Vincent’s Hospital in Toledo for treatment, the Coast Guard said.
Crews worked to put out the flames and confirmed that nobody was left on either boat. One of the boats was towed away while the other remained beached, waiting for its owner to be identified, the Coast Guard said on 14 December.
Teens Pulled from Mississippi River After Boat Capsizes
12/10/25 – St. Charles Co., MO
Two 19-year-old duck hunters were being searched for by a dozen emergency workers in boats after they capsized their 12-foot johnboat and ended up in the frigid Mississippi River near Missouri’s Ellis Island.
Firefighters in Alton, Missouri, received the call to assist St. Charles County rescue efforts about 7 a.m. and were the first rescue boat in the water. Marine One, Alton's fire and rescue boat, was buffeted by white-capped waves as it searched near Ellis Island.
Crews had no exact location aside from a river mile marker. Rescue workers searched for about 45 minutes before locating the hunters. At one point the two men called 911 and said they could hear the sirens but could see no rescue equipment. That helped officials locate them near the Lincoln-Shields Recreation Area.
Boat Capsized in Windy, Rough Conditions
Marine One was unable to reach the men, but a fire boat from the Orchard Farm Fire Protection District proved more successful in navigating its way slowly through the rough waters. A rescue boat from the Spanish Lake Fire Protection District stood by in case it was needed.
After almost an hour in the water, the men were brought ashore and their boat was also recovered by firefighters. The two men were all smiles when they reached land and seemed unharmed from the ordeal but were wet and suffering from mild hypothermia. The men walked to an ambulance where they were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
No further information was available on how the boat had capsized, but the river was extremely windy and rough that morning.
USCG Rescues 5 After Boat Sinks Off Florida Coast
12/12/25 – St Petersburg, FL
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued five boaters on 12 December after their 32-foot vessel sank 28 miles west of Florida’s Egmont Key.
Just after 3:30 a.m., the Coast Guard in St. Petersburg reportedly received multiple "mayday callouts" from a person on a vessel taking on water, stating they had five boaters on board who were donning lifejackets and had to abandon ship.
A USCG aircrew and rescue swimmers eventually found and rescued the boaters in the vicinity of their sunken boat at around 4:20 a.m. Officials said the boaters were stable, and they were taken to Tierra Verde Marina for emergency medical care.
Two Duck Hunters Dead, 1 Survivor After Boat Capsizes
12/10/25 – Adair Co., MO
Emergency crews were called for a report of a small boat that had capsized on Hazel Creek Lake north of Kirksville, Missouri, on the morning of 10 December.
The call came in around 7:30 a.m. that the boat with three duck hunters had capsized. Two of the hunters were initially taken to the hospital, while rescuers continued to search for the third person.
Adair County Coroner Brian Noe later reported that Brandon Bergman, 43, of Kirksville, and Jeff Watkins, 53, of Greentop, Missouri, had died after their boat sank, and Adair County Sheriff Jason Lene confirmed that the sole survivor of the ordeal was Hunter Bender, 30, of Kirksville.
Investigators said the three men were duck hunting at Hazel Creek Lake when their boat started taking on water and sank. Bender and Bergman were pulled from the water by emergency rescue crews that morning and rushed to Northeast Regional Medical Center.
Noe said Bergman died on the afternoon of 10 December, while searchers located Watkins' body the following day. The county coroner said both men likely died from the effects of hypothermia and drowning.
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