Boating accidents of the week April 1, 2023
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.
In Separate Incidents, 81 Year-Old Man Dies After Falling Out Of Kayak, Family Rescued From Arizona River
3/18/23 – Mesa, AZ
An 81-year-old man died after he reportedly fell out of his kayak in an Arizona river on 18 March, officials said. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) said deputies were called to the Pebble Beach area of the Salt River for the report of a drowning.
Deputies learned an 81-year-old man had fallen out of his kayak and did not resurface. KPHO reported other kayakers on the river were able to pull the man out and start to administer first aid. Lake Patrol deputies soon arrived and took over first aid. However, the man died at the scene.
The man had not been identified as of 19 March, and detectives were continuing to investigate the incident.
Family rescued in separate incident
About 20 minutes after that incident, another family was kayaking in the Salt River when their kayak capsized and they needed to be rescued by emergency crews. “The currents were about 4.7 feet per second. That is very, very rough waters,” MCSO Sgt. Joaquin Enriquez said.
Authorities said the members of the family stayed afloat by holding onto some bushes and trees. First responders performed a swiftwater rescue to airlift all of the family members to safety. No injuries were reported.
Volunteer Rescue Ream Ends Week-Long Search For Missing Kayakers
3/23/23 Beaver Lake, Ark.
The Cajun Coast Search & Rescue Team ended its search for two missing kayakers on Beaver Lake. The crew had been on the water since 18 March, looking for Chuck Morris and his son Charley. The pair went missing while out on the water on 16 March.
Cajun Coast Search & Rescue got to Beaver Lake on Sunday and started active searching with a K-9, to help alert them to spots where missing people could be. Matt Steinbeck, the commanding officer of the Cajun Coast Search & Rescue: Arkansas Division, said the K-9 alerted the team to the same spot multiple times, and he expressed hope it would aid in the Benton County Sheriff’s Office search.
“I’m 100% positive, and our dog never leads us off. He’s got 59 recoveries underneath him right now,” Steinbeck said.
Chuck Morris, 47, and his son Charley Morris, 20, both of Kansas City, Mo., were reported missing about 4 p.m. on 16 March, according to Lt. Shannon Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the Benton County Sheriff's Office. A family member told officials the men had gone kayaking about 11 a.m Thursday and were expected to return by 2 p.m. that day, Jenkins said. Sheriff's Office deputies began searching Beaver Lake in the Lost Bridge area Thursday afternoon.
Chuck Morris is a percussionist for the band Lotus, described as an instrumental electronic jam band on the group's Wikipedia page. In a post on its Facebook page on 18 March, the band stated: "We have no new information at the moment. A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe drive to provide financial support to Chuck's immediate family."
Sheriff's Office deputies found one of the Morris' kayaks on the night of 16 March. The other kayak was found the following morning, Jenkins said. A jacket that one of the men had been wearing was found in an area between the kayaks, she said. A prayer vigil for the men was held on 18 March in Lost Bridge, Arkansas.
18 Year-Old Dies in Boating Accident Near Wayne County, Pennsylvania
3/18/23 – Mount Cobb, PA
An 18-year-old high school graduate died in a boating accident on 18 March. Recovery crews said they found the body of Dominic Testani from Doylestown just after 9 a.m. in Lake Henry, near Mount Cobb in Wayne County.
Investigators say Testani and a group of friends took a rowboat to the lake hours earlier, and it flipped in the water. Two other teenagers made it to safety, officials say.
Bodies of Missing Boaters Recovered at Florida Lake
3/18/23 – Winter Haven, FL
The search for two missing boaters ended after officials said their bodies were found near the bottom of a Winter Haven lake.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Jeffrey Marrero and Orlando Ortiz were found about 150 yards apart in Lake Eloise. According to the agency, Ortiz and his girlfriend, 38-year-old Velcky Velasquez, were celebrating their one-year anniversary as a couple. Marrero and his daughters, ages 8 and 10, were invited on a rented 16-foot Tahoe ski boat.
Inexperienced boaters on rented boat
However, investigators said they were inexperienced on the water as they faced rough, choppy conditions, including 20 mph winds.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, Velasquez jumped into the lake with the anchor: "Miss Velazquez takes the anchor and jumps into the water. The anchor rope is not tied to the
boat," Sheriff Judd stated. "She's just very inexperienced, so she thinks that you have to get into the water, put the anchor in, and then tie it to the boat. The engine is off, and the boat starts to float away." Velazquez and Ortiz jumped into Lake Eloise to save her but struggled themselves.
Sheriff Judd said Velasquez was a better swimmer and began floating on her back. "Ultimately, they sank," he explained. "They went down pretty close to each other, but they were found 150 yards apart because of the movement of the lake." The 10-year-old on the boat called 911.
Two Polk County deputies heard the call and raced to Lake Summit, borrowing a fisherman's boat to get to the scene. Lake Eloise is surrounded by Legoland and private property, and the only way to the scene was through a canal from Lake Summit.
Deputies were able to rescue Velasquez. The children remained on the boat, which ended up stuck in high weeds, the sheriff said. The search for Marrero and Ortiz continued until 4:30 p.m. on 20 March, when the sheriff’s office announced that both bodies had been found, largely thanks to sonar technology used by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and an underwater drone used by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office.
Authorities Investigating Boat Explosion on Pennsylvania River
3/17/23 – Washington, PA
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission was investigating a boat explosion that took place on the Susquehanna River in Lancaster County. According to emergency dispatchers, crews were called to the 1900 block of Water Street in Washington Boro just after 10:30 p.m. on 17 March. According to police, one person suffered burns and was taken to the hospital.
Emergency crews extinguished the fire and setup containment around the boat to help soak up any remaining fuel or other hazards from floating down river.
The Pa. Fish and Boat Commission Communications Director Mike Parker declared that the boat was tied to a dock along the Susquehanna River at the time of the incident and that a propane heater was thought to have caused the blast. He added that the Fish and Boat Commission was working with Manor Township Police and local fire departments that responded to the incident, and was awaiting reports from those agencies as part of the investigation.
Boat Goes Up in Flames on Mystic River in Somerville
3/22/23 – Somerville, MA
Fire crews rushed to contain a fire that broke out on a boat on the Mystic River in Somerville, Massachusetts, on 22 March. Firefighters could be seen spraying the flames from the dock while another crew in a fire boat worked to keep the fire from spreading to nearby vessels at the Winter Hill Yacht Club on Artisan Way.
Witnesses said it appeared the fire broke out in the area of a blue tarp on the back of the boat. The blaze cast a large plume of black smoke across the area. The cause of the fire remained under investigation and no additional information was immediately available.
1 dead, 3 Hospitalized After Boat Capsizes on North Carolina Lake
3/17/23 – Chapel Hill, NC
One person was reported dead and three people were hospitalized after a boat capsized on North Carolina’s Jordan Lake on the afternoon of 17 March, according to the North Carolina Wildlife Commission.
Officials said a distress call came in around 2 p.m. from the Farrington Point boat ramp on Jordan Lake in Chatham County. After arriving, officials learned that the boat had capsized.
N.C. Wildlife responded and rescued four people who were in the water. All four people on the boat, who were on a fishing trip, were transported to the hospital and one of them was pronounced deceased at WakeMed.
According to local media reports, the victim was 63-year-old Jesus Martinez Sandoval. N.C. Wildlife officials said the other three, also men, had non-life-threatening injuries. They were identified as 32-year-old Jonathan Martinez, 35-year-old David Hernandez, and 45-year-old Jaime Vargas.
Officials declared that the boat was being retrieved and the investigation was ongoing at the scene and the hospital