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St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 24th, 2019, 8:31 am
by Redbelly
Has anyone heard any details? We heard one fatality, the boat was going fast and hit a sand bar flinging everyone out. Boat spun around and hit one person. We heard this from the ones who saw it and first on the scene.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 24th, 2019, 9:34 am
by Srbenda
Redbelly wrote:Has anyone heard any details? We heard one fatality, the boat was going fast and hit a sand bar flinging everyone out. Boat spun around and hit one person. We heard this from the ones who saw it and first on the scene.
Wow. Yesterday?
Lots of recreational boaters headed out as I was coming in.
Here's some links...
https://www.wctv.tv/content/news/FWC-in ... 82301.html
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 24th, 2019, 10:02 am
by Redbelly
It was posted on FB, so I have no real info other than that. It was yesterday.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 24th, 2019, 12:35 pm
by wskybiz
Heading back in around 6pm I saw a fire truck and some law enforcement at the ramp with lights on. There was one fwcc boat (blue lights on) in the river 2 miles +/- south of the fort with a few boats pulled over (witnesses maybe? ) but didn't see much more going on than that. Sad to hear that happened...
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 25th, 2019, 4:28 pm
by salty tiger
We heard the original distress call over the radio as we were docking at Shields. I couldn't believe it when they said they were at the fort. There is video out there of a what looked like a small ski boat in the circle of death.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 25th, 2019, 4:45 pm
by Srbenda
ST. MARKS, Fla. (WCTV) – Authorities were on the scene for hours Saturday investigating a fatal boating accident on the St. Marks River.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office responded to the St. Marks boat ramp around 2 p.m. Saturday.
Authorities determined a group of four men was traveling north when the driver made an unexpected turn, causing all four occupants to be ejected.
One of the passengers, 22-year-old Heath Bohannon, of Tallahassee, was struck by the vessel after being thrown into the water. He was pronounced dead by Wakulla County EMS.
The family of the driver of the boat said that he was devastated by what happened.
Saint Marks is a tight-knit boating community. Residents say a tragedy likes this never happens and their thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected.
“I was really shocked and sorry to hear about it,” said one local resident, who lives just feet away from the boat ramp.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 25th, 2019, 6:38 pm
by Salty Gator
salty tiger wrote:We heard the original distress call over the radio as we were docking at Shields. I couldn't believe it when they said they were at the fort. There is video out there of a what looked like a small ski boat in the circle of death.
I guess that’s why we should wear out kill switch lanyard all the time, not just when we are alone. Really sad
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 25th, 2019, 8:39 pm
by fishinfool
So sorry to hear that. I was thinking about my kill switch and attached on the way back yesterday. It is something I don't think about very often. So sad.
Prayers to the families.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 27th, 2019, 11:28 am
by Geno67
Very sad. I make sure mine is on and transfer it to anyone else I give the helm over too.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 27th, 2019, 2:13 pm
by guthooked
Very sad indeed. I admit I don't always wear mine but will think twice now. Few years ago I had a German Shepherd that would stand behind the console while under way and would constantly get his head tangled in the cord and unplug it. With that happening a couple of times a trip I stopped wearing it and just looped it out of the way.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 27th, 2019, 6:02 pm
by rockyg
A friend of a good friend was coming back in the river just after the accident happened. The location was supposedly just a few hundred yards south of the Fort. The empty boat was still going in circles when they arrived. Several boats were in the area helping the passengers out of the water. There was something said about the boat hit one of the navigation bouys in the river and the collision threw everone out. They did not see a body and didn't know someone had died until they saw it on the news. FWC arrived just as they did and there were already several boats on scene, so they did not stop.
Very sad.......A fine young man lost his life.
While I was invincible in my younger days I always wear my inflatable PFD while on the water, and I keep the kill switch on my wrist when the outboard is running.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 28th, 2019, 10:28 am
by Price3275
This is tragic for sure, Prayers for the family. ... I used to sometimes wear my kill switch, and sometimes not. I had it on at work this day, and I'm glad I did now. It was the last thing I thought of before I entered the water. I wear an engine kill lanyard EVERY time the boat is running now. (Video they made of me and my partner after the fact.)
https://youtu.be/UtrZ7F5UuDs
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 28th, 2019, 11:10 am
by FTReelty
Everybody that is a member of this forum or visits this forum should watch that youtube video! You decide.
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 28th, 2019, 11:50 am
by Salty Gator
FTReelty wrote:Everybody that is a member of this forum or visits this forum should watch that youtube video! You decide.
Decide what?
Re: St Marks boat accident
Posted: February 28th, 2019, 2:57 pm
by 4reels
FTReelty wrote:Everybody that is a member of this forum or visits this forum should watch that youtube video! You decide.
Agreed. Thanks for sharing.
I like the analogy of PFD’s / kill switches to seatbelts in the video. They’re an extra step and a little uncomfortable, but they greatly increase your chances of survival when an accident occurs.
I’ll be using mine after all of this . . .
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