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Name:
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Marine Police
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Subject:
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Boating Accident
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Date:
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6/13/2006 10:27:04 PM
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I've not heard anything about an accident on Smith Lake but here's a story about one on Neely Henry in Gadsden. This took place at Riverfest, a concert event that's right on the river in town. I think they estimated a couple of hundred boats there which is a huge crowd for that area. This article is from the Gadsden Times.
Boaters `fortunate' to survive accident
By Lisa Rogers, Times Staff Writer
Published June 12, 2006
It's a miracle nobody was seriously injured or killed when two boats collided after Riverfest Saturday night, Alabama Marine Police officer Matt Brooks said.
It's the first serious boat wreck on the Coosa River that has happened during Riverfest, according to Brooks.
"With the number of boats we've always had, we've been lucky not to have had an accident until now," he said. "All the persons injured were fortunate."
The boats are a big part of Riverfest, which has been set along the Coosa River on Albert Rains Boulevard for years.
The boat wreck happened about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, soon after Riverfest concluded. There was possibly a record number of boats for Riverfest, with between 200 and 300 at the peak of the festival.
A pontoon boat was anchored just north of the Meighan Bridge, waiting on the boats to clear from the boat ramp near the Memorial Bridge at Broad Street.
Sonny Woodward was sitting in the driver's seat of the pontoon boat when he heard a loud motor.
"Somebody yelled `duck,' and then the boat hit us," Woodward said.
The driver of the ski boat was speeding as he drove north, Marine Police Lt. Rick Vines said.
The ski boat struck the pontoon in the side near the back, ripping
part of the boat's left side loose.
"It was really just a glancing blow," Vines said. "The ski boat could have come up in the boat and it would have been much worse."
At least two of the five people aboard the ski boat were thrown into the water.
About 10 people were on the pontoon boat, but none was thrown in the water.
At least two people on one boat were injured and three on the other.
Witnesses to the collision went back to the boat dock to tell marine police officers about the wreck.
Four marine police officers in two boats were still on the water after having worked Riverfest.
The officers drove to the wrecked boats about a quarter-mile away and then towed them back to the city boat dock.
Four of the people injured were transported to a local hospital by ambulance, Gadsden Fire Assistant Chief Mickey Lee said.
Most of the injuries were scrapes and bruises, according to Lee, none of which appeared to be serious.
Witnesses told police officers the ski boat operator was speeding, but there is some question about running lights on the pontoon boat, Vines said. "He was going too fast for the number of boats in the water."
At the boat dock, the boat operator failed a field sobriety test and was taken to jail, charged with boating under the influence. He also was cited for not wearing his emergency shut off switch, Brooks said.
Another boater who had nothing to do with the wreck was arrested for public intoxication and obstructing a government operation.
Another boater was charged Friday night for BUI. Two people on the water were arrested Saturday night for a drug charge of marijuana.
"When you've got a large number of boats in a small area, you've got to take extra precautions," Vines said.
Not just during Riverfest, but all boating season, the marine police has centered on drug and alcohol enforcement.
"But it seems to be worsening," Brooks said, adding that the wreck should serve as a reminder of the dangers on the water, especially at night and when the river is crowded.
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