12-03-12 INDIAN HARBOUR BEACH, FL Dad charged after driverless boat carrying girl, 4, crashes into yard floridatoday.com (12-06-12) After its intoxicated driver fell overboard in a collision with a dock on Mon. (12-03), his 19-ft. boat careened across the Grand Canal — with the driver’s 4-y/o daughter still inside — and crashed through some trees, coming to rest in a waterfront backyard, police said. John Burns, 36, was charged with felony boating under the influence, BUI with property damage, child abuse and probation violation. Burns has 3 previous convictions for driving a car under the influence. He was serving felony probation for his most recent DUI conviction last year. No injuries were reported in the boating incident. The owner of the home where the boat came to rest told police her son saw the boat speeding up and down the canal behind her house. Her son said the boat appeared to be out of control as it headed toward their home and crashed into her backyard, landing about 3 ft. from her screen enclosure.
The homeowner said Burns pleaded with her not to call police. In his report, the responding officer wrote he could smell the odor of alcohol on Burns’ breath, his eyes appeared glassy and red and he kept slurring words. Burns told police his propeller was tangled in a lobster trap and he jumped into the water to try to free it. He said that after the propeller tangled, the boat accelerated and crashed. Burns was taken to Indian Harbour Beach PD, where he failed field sobriety tests and refused to provide a breath sample.
Police contacted the Dept. of Children and Families, which will investigate the incident. Burns is being held at Brevard Co. Jail without bond. Cmdr. Mark Rowley said the blood alcohol threshold for BUI is the same as DUI, 0.08. He said his dept. rarely encounters this sort of arrest. “There is a provision in the law that basically says if you’ve had prior DUIs a BUI can be counted against your driving record,” said Joy Hill, information coordinator for the Florida FWC. She added that if a minor is on board, BUI penalties increase.
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12-04-12 VENTURA, CA Man rescued when boat capsizes at Ventura Harbor vcstar.com (12-05-12) Ventura Harbor Patrol officers rescued a man Tue. (12-04) after his boat capsized. Officers responded to the rescue at 5 p.m. near the breakwater. A man made his way onto the breakwater, and officers retrieved him and took him back to shore. He had no injuries. Another Harbor Patrol boat towed the man's boat back to the launch ramp. Officers said the man was fishing for lobsters when his line got caught in the propeller, disabling the boat and causing it to capsize.
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12-05-12 LAHAINA, MAUI, HI Man rescued after falling off boat in Maui waters hawaiinewsnow.com (12-05-12) Paramedics on Maui along with the USCG rescued a man who had fallen from his boat in the waters off Kapalua Bay. The rescue operation took place Tue. (12-04) just before 11 a.m. The 51-y/o man suffered head injuries after apparently falling from the tower of his fishing boat, landing on a mounted chair, and then falling again onto the boat's deck. The man was still on the deck when members of the CG found him. They treated him on the boat and then brought his chartered fishing vessel to Lahaina harbor where medics assumed care. The victim was taken to the Maui Mem. Med. Center in serious condition.
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12-04-12 NEWBERG, OR Men in capsized boat rescued near Newberg kptv.com (12-04-12) Two men clung to a log that drifted down the Willamette River after their boat capsized Tue. morning (12-04). Newberg firefighters said it happened just before 10 a.m. Both men went into the water and clung to their boat until it began to sink. They then treaded water and held onto a single flotation device until a large log came their way. The men latched onto it and the log carried them farther down river, according to rescue crews. The log eventually brought them to shore, where they awaited rescue. Fire crews found them cold, but otherwise unharmed, near Rogers Landing Park. The men were evaluated by medics at the scene and released. They were not taken to the hosp.
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12-04-12 TALL TIMBERS, MD House Boat Fire at Tall Timbers Marina smnewsnet.com (12-05-12) On Tue. (12-04) at 10:30p.m., around 30 firefighters from Valley Lee, Bay District, and Ridge were alerted to a report of a houseboat on fire at the Tall Timbers Marina on Herring Creek Road in Tall Timbers. Crews arrived on scene to discover a house boat near the pier with heavy fire and smoke showing. No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Maryland State Fire Marshall’s were called to the scene and continue to investigate.
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12-04-12 ORLANDO, FL Man died after boat capsized on Orlando lakes wftv.com (12-07-12) Orlando Fire-Rescue divers pulled the body of man who had been boating with friends from an Orlando lake early Fri. morning. Seven people were in a canoe on Rock Lake in Orlando when it capsized. Around 4:15 a.m., police received a call about a missing boater on Rock Lake. Police said that 7 people were in the canoe when it capsized. Six of the boaters made it safely to shore, but one did not come up. Investigators said the group of people had been at the Parliament House Club & Resort and were returning to the residence where they were staying when the boat turned over. Just after 5:00 a.m., police divers retrieved the body of the missing man. Once divers brought the victim to shore, paramedics worked to resuscitate him as he was loaded into an ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the hosp. Investigators said he was in the water for at least an hr. before his body was retrieved. Rescuers said the boaters did not have any lights, and they were not wearing lifejackets.
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12-04-12 STEWARTS POINT, CA Coast Guard rescues five aboard boat stranded off Stewarts Point pressdemocrat.com (12-04-12) Coast Guard crews Tue. (12-04) rescued 5 people aboard a boat stranded off Stewarts Point on the Sonoma Coast. An 18-ft. vessel lost power about ½ mi. off shore, and a person aboard was able to use a cellphone to call for help at 10 a.m., said Matt Foussadier, boatswain's mate with the USCG at Bodega Bay. A CG helicopter was sent to find the boat and dropped radio gear to the stranded people as a 47-ft. rescue boat headed to the area from Bodega Bay. Three adults and 2 children, ages 7 and 10, were aboard "safe and anchored," Foussadier said. It was expected to take 5 hrs. to tow the boat about 25 nautical mi. in choppy seas back to Bodega Bay, Ross Ellis, boatswain's mate 2nd class, said. They were expected to arrive at about 7 p.m.
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12-05-12 SEBASTIAN INLET, FL Man says hooked shark flipped his kayak at Sebastian Inlet floridatoday.com (12-06-12) A 24-y/o man who was pulled from the rocks near Sebastian Inlet told rescuers a shark flipped his kayak. The man said he had been fishing at the inlet Wed. afternoon (12-05), according to Lt. Jeff Taylor of Brevard Co. Fire Rescue. He told rescuers he hooked a shark which flipped his kayak, dumping him into the water. He was then pushed by the current onto the rocks on the N. side of the fishing pier. He suffered injuries from hitting the rocks. Crews arrived at about 4 p.m., but they had a hard time getting to the man. They used a 24-ft. ladder to get from a walkway to the rocks, then put the man in a rescue basket and used rope to slide the basket up the ladder. He was taken to Holmes Regional Med. Center in stable condition. The crew that responded was equipped to perform such a maneuver because they dealt with a similar incident at the inlet about 6 months ago, Taylor said. The first time they didn’t have a rescue basket, but this time they brought one.
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11-24-12 BAZETTA, OH ODNR believes overloaded boat was cause of deadly accident on Mosquito Lake wfmj.com (12-06-12) The Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources believes that an overloaded boat may have helped cause a deadly accident on Mosquito Lake last month. Daniel Khalil of Howland drowned when a boat carrying him and 2 friends filled with water and capsized. The survivors tell investigators that their 16-ft. aluminum boat was also loaded with 3 shotguns and 100 geese and duck decoys, as well as other equipment. None of the men were wearing their life vests.
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