Accidents of the Week - July 26, 2025
BoatTEST publishes “Accidents of the Week” as a public service for our VIP Subscribers to acquaint them with potential boating dangers and, by inference, their prevention.
Two Escape Unharmed from Boat Explosion
7/13/25 – Pennington Co., SD
A boat patrol for the Sheriff’s Office in Pennington County, South Dakota, got word on 13 July that a boat had exploded near the north launch of Sheridan Lake.
Deputy Cody Rhoden said members got their vessel on the water and headed that way. “As we came around the corner, we could see a large plume of black smoke and what appeared to be a fully engulfed boat with about 6- to 8-foot flames,” he said.
Boat Caught Fire After Ignition
It was like, “nothing that I’ve ever witnessed before on boat patrol. Nothing like it,” he said. No one was reported injured in the explosion, with the boat owners able to jump in the water and escape.
Rhoden said the owners reported that the boat, with an inboard motor, had caught fire after ignition. “And then a short time later, there was an explosion,” Rhoden said, noting he watched a video from a bystander. “There were several smaller explosions with different colored smoke.”
When the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office boat patrol arrived on scene, the boat was fully engulfed in flames. After finding that everyone was safe, they picked up members of the Hill City Volunteer Fire Department, who spent about 30 minutes spraying the fire from the dock until it finally went out, Rhoden said. The cause of the fire was under investigation.
Good Samaritans Rescue Man, Dog from Overturned Boat
7/15/25 – Rocky Hill, CT
Good Samaritans came to the rescue when a small boat overturned in the Connecticut River in Rocky Hill, Connecticut, on the afternoon of 15 July, sending a man and his dog into the river.
The Rocky Hill Fire Department said firefighters, Rocky Hill Police Department and EMS were called to the river at Ferry Park around 2:19 p.m. and they saw a small boat that was overturned around 200 feet off the docks and the boater holding onto the stern of a nearby vessel. They also learned that a dog was trapped beneath the overturned boat.
Before the first responders even had a chance to leave the shore, people who were in the water started to help. Ed England and his friend were on a boat nearby when it happened.
“I said, 'We gotta get him in, his boat is sinking, this old guy,'" England said. "All of a sudden that was it. He hit the throttle, threw him out of the seat, he went backwards.” “He was bobbing down, like he was going down but he didn’t have a life jacket on either. It was just scary,” England said".
Boat Sinks Off Santa Barbara Coast, One Person Dies
7/11/25 – Santa Barbara, CA
A fishing trip off the Santa Barbara coast on the morning of 11 July turned tragic when it resulted in one fatality and one critical injury, after a 24-foot Skipjack boat sank approximately two miles off Leadbetter Point.
The vessel, whose wreckage has yet to be located in the 150-foot deep waters, was carrying four individuals. The incident unfolded around 7:45 a.m. when the distressed boat issued a mayday call.
The Shearwater, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel, was just leaving Santa Barbara Harbor when the Harbor Patrol received the distress call. Lieutenant Kelly of Harbor Patrol said the clarity of the radio message meant the boat was nearby.
Harbor Patrol radioed the Shearwater to request assistance as the Harbor Patrol crew scrambled to search the area. The Shearwater was the first to find the boaters — three adults and a child — struggling in the 62ºF water.
Research Vessel Crew Member ‘Leapt into the Water’
A crew member immediately leapt into the water with fins and floatation devices, taking first the child and then two unconscious adults to the waiting boats, said Sean Hastings, information officer for NOAA’s Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Both unconscious boaters were immediately given CPR, as the boats returned to the harbor.
Despite CPR efforts, one of the adults was later pronounced dead by the coroner’s office. Another boater remained in critical condition, while the child and the third adult were treated and subsequently released. The cause of the sinking remained unknown.
Coast Guard Helicopter Rescues Sailboat Victim
7/12/25 – Lexington, MI
The Coast Guard rescued a 52-year-old man from Lake Huron near Lexington, Michigan, after his small sailboat overturned on 12 July.
The Coast Guard's Air Station Detroit and Sector Detroit received a call about the overturned 16-foot sailing vessel in Lake Huron around 5:25 p.m. A survivor reported another man was on board when it flipped.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew located the 52-year-old man in the water waving for help. A rescue swimmer jumped from the helicopter into the water to provide immediate help. Crew members successfully hoisted the rescue swimmer and the victim from the water.
The victim confirmed he was the additional survivor from the overturned sailboat. The Coast Guard crew airlifted the victim to St. Clair County International Airport, where he was transferred to a waiting ambulance.
Boat Catches Fire, Boater 'Swoops In' to Rescue
7/13/25 – St Tammany Parish, LA
When flames engulfed a 45-foot cabin cruiser on Lake Pontchartrain on 13 July, authorities in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana responded to the boat fire.
Facebook posts by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office and Fire District No. 1 included a photo of the burning boat lighting up the darkened skies and water. No one was injured in the fire and, according to the Sheriff's Office, a nearby boater "swooped in and got everyone off safely."
The Sheriff's Office said its Marine Division transported firefighters from St. Tammany Fire District No. 1 to the scene, where they used portable pumps to try and douse the flames. There was no cause listed for the fire.
Coast Guard Rescues Man Struck by Boat Propeller
7/15/25 – Miami, FL
U.S. Coast Guard crew members medevaced a 55-year-old man who suffered a leg injury from a vessel’s propeller near Elliot Key, Florida, on 15 July. The injured man was transported to the Boca Chita dock, where Miami-Dade Fire Rescue airlifted him to Jackson South Medical Center for a higher level of care.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Miami received the initial report at approximately 5 p.m., stating that a man had received a leg injury from a vessel's propeller near the Elliot Key Sandbar. Coast Guard crew members from Station Miami Beach and the Maritime Safety and Security Team diverted from training, arriving on scene to provide first aid and apply a tourniquet.
A Coast Guard small boat transported the man to the Boca Chita dock where local Air Rescue provided transport to Jackson South Medical Center.
Coast Guard Rescues Three from Overturned Boat
7/16/25 – Edisto Beach, SC
US Coast Guard and local fire departments worked to rescue three people in the water from an overturned vessel near Otter Islands, South Carolina, on the morning of 16 July.
The rescue happened around 6:30 a.m., when crews were dispatched after reports of a boat running aground and flipping over. The people on the boat told emergency crews they had been stranded overnight, since 5:30 p.m. on 15 July.
Edisto Fire Department rescued two people, while the Coast Guard's Air Facility rescued the third by helicopter and transported them to EMS at Edisto Beach Club. The boaters' injuries were minor, according to Colleton Fire Rescue.
2 Seriously Injured, 2 Hurt After Vessel Hits Break Wall
7/19/25 – Stamford, CT
Police were investigating a boating incident in Stamford, Connecticut, on the night of 19 July. At around 9:59 p.m. dispatchers received an automated iPhone alert concerning a crash involving a boat that had struck the Stamford Harbor break wall, the fire department said.
When crews arrived, they found a center-console boat that collided with the break wall. Officials said four people who were on the vessel were hurt and two of those individuals suffered significant injuries. The two women who were seriously injured were transported to a nearby hospital first.
Police stayed on scene with the two men with minor injuries at the break wall and tried to stabilize the vessel to keep it from sinking, but unfortunately it could not be saved. The men with injuries were then sent to a local hospital.
Civilian Vessel Crashes into USS Midway in San Diego
7/18/25 – San Diego, CA
A shocking USS Midway collision occurred on 18 July when a civilian vessel crashed into the historic aircraft carrier docked in downtown San Diego, California.
Video footage circulating online showed the small boat veering off course before striking the USS Midway, which now serves as a naval museum. The incident drew immediate attention from onlookers and port authorities, though no injuries were reported.
The collision took place near the Embarcadero, where the USS Midway has been a popular tourist attraction since being decommissioned by the U.S. Navy.
Officials were investigating the cause of the crash and had not ruled out human error or mechanical failure. Damage to the Midway appeared to be minor, but authorities temporarily restricted boat traffic around the museum ship as a safety precaution.