10-05-12 WRIGHTSVILLE BEACH, NC Boat crash, water rescue in Wrightsville Beach wect.com (10-05-12) Two boats collided in Wrightsville Beach early Fri. morning (10-05). According to New Hanover County 911 Dispatch, an onlooker spotted a boat overturned in Banks Channel at 2:22 a.m. The boat was floating about 400 ft. N. of the Blockade Runner. Emergency crews arrived on scene with the Wrightsville Beach FD, Wrightsville Beach PD, USCG, and Wildlife. Whilesearching the water for victims, authorities say 5 men were rescued. Two ofthem have been transported to New Hanover Regional Med. Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Everyone has been accounted for. Wildlife officials are taking over the investigation. It's unknown at this time if anyone will face charges in the accident.
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10-04-12 LAKE MEAD, NV Rangers Find Man's Body at Lake Mead 8newsnow.com (10-04-12) Nat’l Park rangers found a 54-y/o man's body Thur. afternoon (10-04) on the Lake Mead Arizona shoreline. The man's body was found near an inflatable kayak. A life vest was found on the kayak, which was still inflated. The body did not have a lifejacket on it when it was found. The rangers started receiving the reports earlier in the day of a male body washed up on shore.According to the NPS, rangers arrived on the scene by boat and confirmed the reports. The body is being transported to the Mohave Co. Coroner's Office for identification and a cause of death. The NPS is handling the investigation.
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09-11-12 FAIRPORT HARBOR, OH Catamaran capsizes near Fairport Harbor, Coast Guard gets boaters to safety newsnet5.com (09-11-12) The USCG helped 2 men to Fairport Harbor after their catamaran capsized Tue. afternoon (09-11). A Good Samaritan radioed to the CG Station Grand River that the boaters were trying to re-right a capsized catamaran about 200 yds. W. of the Fairport Harbor lighthouse. When the rescue boat arrived, both men were wearing lifejackets and continued to work on the 16-ft. catamaran. After about 30 min., the boaters in the water were exhausted and asked for help. They were taken aboard the 25-ft. rescue boot and a commercial salvage company came to tow the catamaran.
“The two people on the catamaran were not expecting to capsize but dangerous situations come unexpectedly and it is good that they were wearing lifejackets,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class James Bozeman said. No injuries were reported.
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10-02-12 RIVERDALE, IL Riverdale Marina fire hurts boat owner abclocal.go.com (10-02-12) A boat fire at a S. suburban marina sent one person to the hosp. The flames raced through one boat and also damaged another one at the Riverdale Marina early Tue. (10-02). The owner of the 1st boat suffered burns to his hands and possibly his face. Firefighters say fumes from a gas pump ignitedwhen the man tried to start the boat.
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UPDATE
10-02-12 KERN COUNTY, CA Drunken boat driver sentenced for murder kget.com (10-02-12) The maximum sentence was handed down Tue. (10-02) to a Bakersfield man, convicted of killing a man while driving a boat drunk. According to the Kern Co. District Attorney, this is the first conviction of its kind in the state and most likely the nation. 25-y/o Justin Ennis criedopenly in the courtroom as a judge sentenced him to 15 yrs. to life in prison. The victim's family and the prosecutor also shed tears as the 2-y/o case finally came to a close. "He's in the boat, he's bleeding," said the niece of the victim in a 911 call on August 28th, 2010. That's the day Justin Ennis drove a boat into Sal Rodriguez and killed the soon-to-be father. It all happened on Buena Vista Lake. "We were on the boat and then this guy ran us over and he hit my, the driver. He's bleeding. He's bleeding," said the niece. Evidence proved Ennis was drunk and under the influence of marijuanawhile driving the boat. "Man you're drunk. You're too drunk," said an unidentified male voice on the 911 tape. Ennis was convicted of 2nd degree murder, the first murder conviction like this in California. "Whether you are driving in a car on the road or a boat on the lake, if you are under the influence that is a crime, and we will prosecute you," said Kern Cou. District Atty. Lisa Green. At his sentencing Tue., Ennis broke down when hetried to read a prepared statement. "I've tried to write this letter a thousand times, still..." said Ennis. That was all the defendant could say before he broke down crying. The prosecutor asked for the maximum sentence,citing several reasons, one of which is that Ennis tried to flee the crash. "The people that hit him are trying to leave," said the niece on the 911 tape. The prosecution also cited Ennis's criminal history, which they say includes 5 other convictions, one of them a DUI. Ennis was also charged with 2nd degree murder in 2009 for the murder of his friend's girlfriend, but that charge was dismissed. The prosecution told the judge during Tue's sentencing that Ennis is not remorseful, citing a recorded jail call. "Yeah. I mean it's all bad right now, but it will straighten itself out. The only thing I am really worried about, the only thing I am really disappointed about, is the boat," said Ennis from a jail call. The defense says that call is taken outof context and that Ennis is extremely sorry for his actions. "My client is very sorry that this happened, and he knows the consequences," said Michael Lukehart. Sal Rodriguez's wife spoke at the sentencing, reminding the judge she was pregnant when her husband was killed. That struck a nerve with the prosecutor on this case. "These are the footprints of his unborn daughter who will never get to go to a father/daughter dance because of Justin Ennis," said David Wolf, Deputy Kern Co. District Attorney as he held up a copy of Camilla Rodriguez's baby footprints. While the family is happy withEnnis' sentence, they say it doesn't bring back the uncle, brother, and father they once knew. "We ask that this stop today," said Maria Lopez, the victim's sister-in-law. "If you decide to consume a drink, decide not to drive." The defense plans to appeal Ennis' conviction and sentence.
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07-29-12 JAY, OK Jay boat-crash drowning victim was drunk, autopsy finds tulsaworld.com (10-03-12) A man who died of drowning following a boat crash on Grand Lake in July had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit, an autopsy report shows. Monte Price, 39, of Jay, died in the July 29 boating crash. He was with a party of 3 other individuals and was thrown from a 20-ft. boat when it struck a breakwater structure near Arrowhead South Marina around 2 a.m. He and 2 others were thrown from the boat in the crash. A breakwater structure helps dissipate waves before they reach the docks. The 2-page autopsy report showed Price died from an accidental drowning. The toxicology report shows his blood-alcohol level was .20, almost 3 times the legal limit of .08. A bruise and small laceration were seen on Price's left eye, and abrasions were on his legs, the report states. The investigation into the crash remains incomplete, a prosecutor said Tue. (10-02). Justin Alberty, Grand River Dam Authority spokesman, said in an email the investigative report is not done, but the final accident report should be ready soon. Brian Kuester, the district attorney for Adair, Cherokee, Sequoyah and Wagoner counties, said "right now we are still waiting for GRDA to complete its investigation." Kuester was appointed to the case after Delaware Co. Attorney Eddie Wyant recused himself shortly after the incident, citing a conflict of interest. Price's body wasrecovered in 50 ft. of water in the Duck Creek arm of Grand Lake.
Also injured in the crash were Shane Carroll and his 17-y/o son, Brooks Carroll, along with family friend Brian Smith. GRDA police said none of the victims were wearing life jackets. The elder Carroll is the Jay Middle School principal. The men had attended a wedding on Sat. afternoon and left the reception around 10:30 p.m., according to friends that were at the wedding.
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10-02-12 HALF MOON BAY, CA Family find body of second man from capsized boat mercurynews.com (10-03-12) The second of 2 fishermen missing since their boat capsized this weekend off Pigeon Point was found Tue. (10-02), authorities said. Family members of Ping Yau Tsang, 56, of San Francisco, found his body 1Ž4 mi. N. of the area near Pigeon Point Road and Highway 1 around 4 p.m., said San Mateo Co. Sheriff's Detective Rebecca Rosenblatt. The previous day, the family of Carl Deng, 52, of San Francisco, found his body on the San Mateo Co. coast. The men were part of a group of 4 fishermen who set out around 5:30 a.m. Sun. in a 23-ft. boat. Nearly 5 hrs. later their vessel was flipped by a large wave, tossing them into the water. Two of the fisherman wore lifejackets and managed to swim to shore, while Tsang and Deng, who weren't wearing vests, went missing.
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10-01-12 SAN DIEGO, CA Body of man from capsized sailboat found off San Diego latimes.com (10-01-12) A body believed to be that of a 50-y/o man tossed into the water when his sailboat capsized near the N. jetty of Mission Bay in San Diego has been recovered, officials said Mon. (10-01). The man's20-ft. sailboat was capsized by a rogue wave shortly after midnight. A 2nd person aboard was able to reach the shore. A USCG helicopter and search boat combed the area for hrs. before the body was discovered by a diver.
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10-03-12 LAKE POWELL, AZ Body of Utah man found in waters of Lake Powell kpho.com (10-04-12) The body of a Salt Lake City, UT, man who apparently drowned was recovered from Lake Powell on Wed. (10-04). The Nat’l. Park Service said Pejman Pourhassan, 40, was reported missing Sept. 21 after going for a swim in the lake. Witnesses said he jumped off a wakeboard boat and was swimming to a houseboat when he yelled for help, according to a Glen Canyon Nat’l. Recreation Area spokeswoman.
Members of Pourhassan's group tried to help the victim, but he slipped under water before they could reach him. The body was found about 100 ft. under the lake surface and the 13-day search covered about 3 1/2 sq. mi. in Gunsight Bay.
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