Jacksonville, FLThe last thing a tourist would expect while riding in passenger boat along a Florida intercoastal waterway is a boating accident and the possibility of death, but that's what has happened to five doomed passengers aboard a pleasure craft that crashed yesterday near Ponte Vedra Beach, in the Sunshine State.
Of the 12 passengers aboard the boat, five were killed and seven were injured, three critically.
According to the Florida Times-Union the boating accident happened along a section of Florida Intercoastal Waterway that was unfettered by posted speed limits. Whether, or not speed was a factor will be an obvious part of the ensuing investigation.
According to a spokesperson with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the 22-foot Crownline with about a dozen people on board was negotiating the Intercoastal Waterway near the Palm Valley Bridge in Palm Valley when it slammed into a 25-foot tug that was moored on a dock under construction.
Rescue workers had to actually install planking along the unfinished dock in order to rescue the victims. Further complicating the rescue, according to Commission investigator Steve Zukowsky, was that a barge with a crane was also moored alongside the unfinished dock.
The accident happened at about 7pm Sunday about 25 miles southeast of Jacksonville. The Intercoastal runs along the eastern Florida coast.
It was not clear if any, or all of the passengers—confirmed to be 12 by Jeremy Robshaw of St. Johns County Fire and Rescue—were thrown into the water upon impact. All seven of the injured passengers were taken to hospital by various means, while the three most-critically injured were airlifted to hospital.
No names were released and it was unclear if the pleasure craft was leased for an organized pleasure cruise, or if it was a private boat.
Investigators will be looking at all factors, according to spokesperson Joy Hill of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Things such as the rated capacity for the boat, whether or not the passengers were wearing life vests, weather conditions and the speed of the boat would all be potential factors under investigation. The time of day would also be scrutinized; even though there is still light at 7pm, trees alongside the intercoastal waterway could have darkened the area within the waterway.
It is also not clear what color the barge and tug were (if they were dark, for example) that might have made them harder to see. Investigators, according to Zukowsky in the Times-Union, would also be looking at the possibility of whether or not alcohol may have been a contributing factor to the boating accident.
The Crownline was 9 years old.
"Investigators are looking at anything that may have caused this," Hill said
Eyewitnesses said some of the injuries appeared to be severe. Herb Davis watched the rescue from the dock at his home down the street. "There was a lot of moaning," he told the Florida Times-Union. "It was very clear, this lady was screaming so loud…"
Boating accidents happen for a variety of reasons. While this particular accident is still under investigation, many boating accidents are caused by inattentiveness on the bridge, unfamiliarity with the craft and often times alcohol.
For some reason, many boaters fail to realize that drinking and boating is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. While nothing as been proven, or a cause identified in this boating accident the legal community, the injured and the families of those killed will be watching this story with interest.