Accidents of the Week - March 7, 2026

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.

Four Hospitalized After Boat Strikes Channel Marker

2/20/26 – Monroe Co., FL

Four people were hospitalized after a boating crash in the Florida Keys that ejected multiple passengers from a vessel on the afternoon of 20 February, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office and Monroe County Fire Rescue.

The incident happened around 4:45 p.m. in waters off Tavernier, an Upper Florida Keys community located between Key Largo and Islamorada in unincorporated Monroe County.

According to Monroe County Fire Rescue, a center-console boat struck a channel marker, with the impact causing the vessel to partially sink. Six people on board were ejected into the water and first responders rushed to the scene to rescue victims.

Officials confirmed that four people were transported to local hospitals following the crash, although their conditions were not publicly released at the time.

Vessel Struck Channel Marker Before Partially Sinking

Investigators said the boat hit a fixed navigation channel marker, designed to guide vessels safely through marked waterways.

The force of the collision was strong enough to eject all six occupants from the vessel. Images from the scene showed the damaged boat partially submerged in the water after the crash.
 

Off-Duty Police Officer Saves Woman After Boat Crash

2/21/26 – Mount Dora, FL

An off-duty police officer from Mount Dora, Florida, was being credited with helping save an unconscious woman after a boat crash on Lake Dora on the night of 21 February that sent five people to the hospital.

The crash happened just before 9 p.m., according to the Lake County Sheriff's Office. Officer Brandon Buzzard said he and his 6-year-old son were fishing nearby when they heard the collision. "We had just settled in, anchors in the water, and I heard a couple of motors near me. And I heard a loud crash."

Buzzard immediately called 911. "I'm out on the lake right now, and there is a boating accident. There are injuries."

Buzzard and his 6-year-old son boated toward the crash site. When they arrived, they found a 39-foot boat that had collided with a smaller pontoon boat. One woman was unconscious and trapped underneath the wreckage.

Officer’s 6-Year-Old Son Assisted in Rescue

Buzzard and others got the woman out and onto his vessel. "Get her onto the boat here. I'm going to take her to shore," Buzzard said during the 911 call. "Yeah, she's knocked out right now. She got hit by a big boat."

His 6-year-old son was still on board throughout. "He was moving all the equipment on the boat to make sure that we had room for other passengers."

Five people were transported to a local hospital. Authorities said all five had since been released. It was unclear whether either boat had its lights on at the time of the collision or whether alcohol was a factor.
 

Coast Guard Airlifts Man to Hospital from Oregon River

2/16/26 – Josephine Co., OR

Gabriel Vaughn was reported missing on 16 February, after he was last seen during a rafting trip near the Greenwall Rapids on the Illinois River in southern Oregon.

Officials said he left his group to go hiking. Four days later, Vaughn was found alive by a private party who had been working with the Josephine County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue and the U.S. Coast Guard.

He was found approximately two miles downstream from where he was last seen, officials said. The Coast Guard was able to airlift Vaughn to a hospital.
 

Alaska Teen Missing After Falling Out of Canoe 

2/23/26 – Anchorage, AK

In a community as small as Sand Point, Alaska — situated out on the Aleutian Chain — a missing person is felt deeply by all. Sand Point residents and other search crews were still looking for a missing teenager who hadn’t been seen since he reportedly fell out of a canoe on a nearby lake.

Kaipo Kaminanga, a 15-year-old high school freshman, fell out of a canoe on the evening of 23 February while boating with a few friends on Red Cove Lake. Kaminanga and two other boys went out on the lake in the community-use canoe, according to Austin Roof, a teacher with the Aleutians East Borough School District.

“We had just unseasonably beautiful weather,” Roof explained, adding that conditions that day included temperatures in the upper 30s. A fourth boy stayed on shore while three canoed out on the lake.

It was during the adventure that the canoe tipped, leaving all three in the frigid water. The friend on shore dove in to help them out of the water, but was only able to reach two of them.

“They tried to help Kaipo, but they weren’t able to get to him,” Roof said. “Sadly, he went under the water, and that was the last time he was seen.”

The call for help to Sand Point police came in around 7:30 p.m., and local residents also arrived to help search the lake.
 

Two Anglers Rescued from Capsized Drift Boat 

2/15/26 – Clallam Co., WA

Two people were rescued by fellow steelhead fishermen on 15 February after their aluminum drift boat overturned on the upper Sol Duc River, in Washington State.

The man and woman were brought wet and cold to a boat ramp where medics were waiting to assist. Law enforcement, fire crews, medics, and a swiftwater rescue team had all responded to the scene.

As of that afternoon, the couple’s dog was still missing. Clallam County Fire District #1 officials said their swiftwater team searched the shoreline but could not locate the dog, and a Forest Service drone was also deployed without success.

Coast Guard Guides Container Ship to Rescue Sailor

2/22/26 – Jacksonville, FL

The U.S. Coast Guard and a good Samaritan vessel rescued a man aboard a disabled sailboat approximately 35 miles off Cape Canaveral, Florida, on 22 February.

A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 aircraft crew located the disabled vessel and guided the nearby containership Polar Mexico to the scene. The ship’s crew brought the man aboard with no reported injuries.

Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville watchstanders received a report via VHF-FM Channel 16 from the cruise ship Carnival Elation stating Spiritus, a 34-foot sailboat, was disabled approximately 33 miles offshore of Port Canaveral with one person aboard requesting assistance from commercial towing.

Watchstanders directed the launch of a Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral boat crew to assist. The boat crew arrived at the vessel’s last known position and commenced searching but did not locate the vessel.

Watchstanders directed the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an Air Station Miami aircraft crew to assist with search efforts. While searching, the aircraft crew located the disabled vessel and established communications with the man, who reported the vessel was taking on water and listing.
 

 

To access BoatTEST’s archived “Accidents of the Week” become of a VIP Member of BoatTEST and learn how you can avoid accidents of all types. Click here...