Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Coast Guard Hits Boat, Boy Dies in Parade

An eight-year-old boy died while five others were injured after a 33-foot Coast Guard vessel hit the boy’s family pleasure boat while they were watching fireworks for a holiday event near Harbor Island.

Anthony Cole DeWeese died an hour after the horrific boat accident at the UCSD Medical Center.

Reports indicate that no one went overboard but three adults suffered serious injuries while two kids, aged 3 and 4, sustained minor injuries.

The boy’s father, and also the boat captain, said that he saw the speeding vessel approaching at 30-40 knots but they had insufficient time to react and get out of the way. Witnesses say that the boy’s father kept on asking rescue personnel about his son as he docked the boat.

The coast guard vessel was said to be responding to an emergency call by a grounded boat when they hit the 26-foot family boat where around 13 people were on board to witness the boat parade.

Accidents involving motor boats are likely to be fatal because with the power that the two vessels have, major collisions can almost always be expected.

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