Accidents of the Week - May 3, 2025
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Speedboat Somersaults Through Air in Lake Havasu Crash
4/26/25 – Lake Havasu, AZ
Video captured a wild boat crash during the massive Desert Storm boating event at Lake Havasu, Arizona, over the weekend of 26 to 27 April.
Footage showed the speedboat flip and somersault through the air before it crashed back into the water. The 10,000 horse-power speed boat was attempting to break a speed record while raising money for charity, topping 200 miles per hour before taking to the sky.
The team shared dramatic video from inside the cockpit - the racers accelerating quickly, then bracing for impact as they flew through the air.
According to event organizers, first responders were on the scene within 20 seconds of the wreck. The two drivers sustained some broken bones and a fractured knee.
1 Dead, 12 Injured After Boat Crashes into Florida Ferry
4/27/25 – Clearwater, FL
One person was killed and 12 were injured when a boat struck the Clearwater Ferry in Clearwater, Florida, on the evening of 27 April.
All of the injured individuals were people on the ferry, according to the Clearwater Police Department. BayCare Health System said it had received a total of nine patients that night at three of their hospitals, and by the following day all but one had been treated and released.
There were 45 people aboard the ferry, including two crew members, when it was hit by a passing boat, police said. The boat that struck the ferry fled the scene, Clearwater police said in a social media post on the night of 27 April. Authorities said the boat was later found by a responding agency.
Yacht ‘Just Came Through the Boat’
After the crash, the ferry came to rest on a sand bar just south of the bridge. First responders and emergency personnel were then able to remove "all patients and passengers" from the ferry, police said.
"We were just enjoying the ride, and then all of a sudden we hear the first mate yelling, 'Hey, hey, hey,'" one passenger told local news. "And then we looked back behind us and this big yacht just came through the boat," said the passenger, who was riding the ferry with his two kids and his wife, 31-weeks pregnant with the couple's third child.
The Coast Guard said there were six people on board the recreational boat, which left the scene. "The boat that fled the scene has been identified by another law enforcement agency," Clearwater police said.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) was set to take the lead on the crash investigation, police said.
Kayakers Rescued in Separate Incidents in Tennessee
4/19/25 – Nashville, TN
Amid the warm weather, some people in Middle Tennessee decided to spend part of their Easter Holiday weekend out on the water. However, in two separate operations several counties apart, first responders had to help kayakers who overturned on the afternoon of 19 April.
The Smith County Rescue Squad said it was dispatched shortly before 1:45 p.m. on Saturday 19 April for a report of kayakers in the water hanging onto a tree.
‘They All Ended Up Overturning’: Rescue Squad
After launching a boat, first responders said they found three kayakers holding onto tree roots near the bank, tied the boat off below the kayakers, got out on the bank, and reached the kayakers.
“This all started when one overturned, as each tried to assist the other, they all ended up overturning,” the rescue squad said.
According to officials, everyone was wearing life jackets, so personnel used ropes to move each kayaker upstream to a low point where they could be removed from the water safely. By that point, the kayakers had reportedly been in the water for close to an hour, leaving them very cold, weak, and tired.
Rescue personnel said an EMS ambulance came to the ramp to check out the kayakers, and while one was evaluated, nobody was transported to the hospital. First responders also retrieved all the kayaks from the river and returned them to their owners.
Three People Injured After Being Ejected from Boat
4/23/25 – New Hanover Co., NC
Three people were hurt after being ejected from their boat in Wilmington, North Carolina, on the morning of 23 April. According to Captain Ryan Saporito with Sea Tow Wrightsville Beach, the accident happened at around 9:30 a.m. near Wilmington’s Masonboro Inlet.
The three people were cruising in their boat when a larger boat came by, and the wake from the large boat caused them to lose control. Authorities were notified by a good Samaritan who saw what happened from shore.
Saporito said the three people did not suffer life-threatening injuries, but one person was cut by the boat’s propeller.
Coast Guard Controls Runaway Vessel with Boat Hook
Trying to get the boat under control, Seatow Captain Jason Stone tried unsuccessfully to use ropes to entangle the propeller.
Finally, a member of the Coast Guard was able to bring the motor to neutral by using a boat hook. The boat was towed back to Trails End Park.
No Foul Play Suspected After Body Recovered in Texas Lake
4/22/25 – Lufkin, TX
A body recovered from Kurth Lake in Lufkin, Texas was identified by police as that of Clay Thomas Legg, 64, of Pollok. According to preliminary autopsy results, Legg drowned and no foul play was suspected.
The Lufkin Police Department earlier announced that they had recovered the body of a man who was reported missing from his boat at Kurth Lake on 22 April.
According to officials, the Angelina County Sheriff’s Office, Lufkin PD, divers with the Nacogdoches County Sheriff’s Office, the Lufkin Fire Department, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Game Wardens responded to reports of a man missing from his boat at around 1 p.m.
The boat was found empty in a cove on Kurth Lake prompting first responders to deploy rescue boats and drones to search the water for anyone who had been on the boat. Divers responded to Kurth Lake and a man’s body was found not too far from where the boat was discovered, Lufkin PD said.
Fuel Leak in Yacht Causes Explosion, Injuring Three
4/26/25 – Austin, TX
Three people were seriously injured in a boat fire on Lake Travis, near Austin, Texas, on the night of 26 April.
Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) responded to the call at around 11 p.m., along with Lake Travis Fire Rescue and STAR Flight. Three people were transported to Dell Seton Medical Center with critical injuries, two by ATCEMS and one by STAR Flight.
“A fuel leak inside a motor yacht resulted in an explosion, injuring three individuals. The injuries are non-life-threatening. There are no suspicious circumstances surrounding this incident," said Travis County spokesperson Hector Nieto.
The Travis County Fire Marshal was leading the investigation into the incident.
Coast Guard Rescues 3 Near Florida’s Skyway Bridge
4/27/25 – St. Petersburg, FL
Three people were rescued near the Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, on 27 April.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) said its St. Petersburg boat crew successfully rescued the trio and brought them back to shore at the Tierra Verde Marina boat ramp. Photos taken during the rescue showed some of the people clinging to rocks near the bridge.
USCG said the personal watercraft involved was not considered a hazard to navigation near the bridge.
Several Hurt When Boat Collides with Docked Vessel
4/26/25 – Miami, FL
Five people were taken to the hospital after a boat crash at North Miami Beach on the evening of 26 April, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR) confirmed.
At about 8 pm., MDFR crews, including air rescue, responded to a report of a capsized vessel. Video from a nearby home showed a small boat colliding with a docked vessel along a canal.
The crash caused the boat to flip over, sending several people into the water, MDFR said. Divers were deployed in the water, and officials said all individuals on board the capsized vessel were accounted for. Gabriel Salauis, 53, a woman and three children were taken to an area hospital for treatment.
Boat’s Occupants ‘Ejected When the Boat Capsized’
Eyewitness Bram Fiebelkorn described what happened after the crash to local news, saying that the waterway can be dangerous.
"The whole boat came out of the air, flipped and went capsized back out of the water, and we immediately started seeing people pop out of the water — they must have been ejected when the boat capsized," he said.
"And so, my neighbor and I jumped into action. We started throwing out flotation devices because we saw kids that were floating in the water."
Authorities were still working to determine the cause of the crash, and no further details had been released.
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