Metropolitan reminds boaters to be prepared before going out on the water to avoid mishaps

July 20th, 2015

 
NEW YORK, NY

After a busy weekend on the waters of New York, the Coast Guard and Metropolitan are reminding the boating public to practice safe boating for the remainder of the busy summer season.

The following cases indicate the importance of preparedness.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 25-foot pleasure craft Friday. The pleasure craft was found to have one major violation of having an insufficient amount of life jackets on board. The boatcrew escorted the vessel to Shinnecock Shores Marina.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 22-foot pleasure craft Friday. The pleasure craft was found to have one major violation of having no fire extinguisher on board. The boatcrew escorted the vessel to a boat slip near Gardeners Avenue.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 20-foot pleasure craft Friday. The pleasure craft was found to have two violations. Not having a sufficient amount of life jackets and no type-4 throwable floatation device on board. The boatcrew escorted the vessel to its homeport.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 19-foot pleasure craft Saturday. The pleasure craft was found to have one major violation of having no fire extinguisher on board. The boatcrew escorted the vessel to the South Hampton Yacht Club.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 13-foot pleasure craft Sunday. The pleasure craft was found to have three major violations: no fire extinguisher, no sound producing device, and no type-4 throwable floatation device. These violations resulted in the boatcrew escorting the vessel to Rampshire Street in Southampton.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 21-foot pleasure craft Sunday. The pleasure craft was found to have one major violation of having an insufficient amount of life jackets on board. The boatcrew escorted the vessel to the Southampton Yacht Club.

A boarding team from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock terminated the voyage of a 26-foot pleasure craft Sunday. The pleasure craft was found to have one major violation of having an insufficient amount of life jackets on board. The boatcrew escorted the vessel to the Aquebogue Marina.

“With the warm summer weather, we’re seeing an increase in recreational boaters,” said Chief Warrant Officer Richard Berg, Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Station Shinnecock. “We want everyone to enjoy their boating experience. Our top priority is insuring you are safe while doing so. Having the required safety equipment and knowing how to use it increases the odds of coming home safely. It isn’t worth your life or the lives of your friends and family to risk going out unprepared.”

In 2014, 78% of fatal boating accident victims died due to drowning. Of those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 84% were not wearing a life jacket.

For more information on boating safety, and what you can do to prepare before going out on the water, go to the Boating Safety Resource Center at http://ift.tt/16CBKrb.

Overturned tanker spills fuel, closes stretch of I-95 in Maryland

By WTOP Staff  

 

March 10, 2015 10:42 am

WASHINGTON, DC

All lanes in both directions of Interstate 95 are now open  more than seven hours hours after a tanker truck overturned, spilling hundreds of gallons of fuel on the highway in Laurel.

The closure before the Intercounty Connector created major backups throughout the day as drivers heading north and south became mired in the delays or tried to work around the wreck. Two southbound lanes of traffic were opened beginning about 3:30 p.m. as the cleanup continued. The northbound lanes were reopened earlier.

Multiple vehicles were involved in the 10:15 a.m. crash but only minor injuries were reported.

However as many as 700 gallons of biodiesel spilled from the tanker, which had a golf-ball sized hole in one section of the tanker and a smaller hole underneath. Responding crews were able to stanch the flow of the fuel, which is considered safer to handle than gasoline, according to the Prince George’s County Fire Department.

Another 400 gallons of biodiesel was captured in drums. The remaining 6,400 gallons of fuel was pumped into another tanker truck, according to the fire department.

The damaged tanker was eventually hoisted upright and towed from the road allowing hazmat crews to continue cleaning up the spilled fuel. A contractor may be needed to complete additional environmental remediation, which could take several days, says Assistant Chief Paul Gomez.

Most of the fuel was contained on the roadway and did not enter storm drains, according to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

The crash left the tanker on its side, stretching across all lanes of the interstate. Aerial footage showed that it had hit a jersey barrier and leaking fuel had pooled on the pavement.

Southbound traffic had been diverted at Md. Route 198 but was eventually allowed to use the local ramp to Konterra Drive to continue past the ICC and back onto I-95. Northbound traffic meanwhile was funneled into a single local lane, but all lanes have since reopened to vehicles heading toward Baltimore.
At its peak, traffic backups stretched for 8 miles, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration.

WTOP’s Brennan Haselton, Andrew Mollenbeck and Amanda Iacone contributed to this report.

1 man killed when yard tractor rolls onto him in South Bend, Indiana

Posted: July 20, 2015

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - 

Authorities say a South Bend man has died after a tractor that he was using to do yard work turned over on top of him.

St. Joseph County Police Lt. Bill Redman says 55-year-old Michael Michaels was pronounced dead at the scene outside his home Sunday afternoon. 

According to authorities, Michaels was moving a tree with the tractor when it overturned.

Police say a person helping Michaels panicked, but a passerby called 911. Redman says officers already in the area were on the scene within minutes, and they and the passerby moved the tractor off Michaels using their hands.

According to Redman, officers tried saving Michaels, but authorities determined he was dead when paramedics and fire department responders arrived.

Authorities are investigating Michaels' death as an accident.

1 man dead, 1 woman critically injured in fiery head-on collision with semi-truck hauling bees near the near the Wisconsin Dells

Posted: July 19, 2015

 

 

 

By Savanna Tomei Courtesy: Baraboo Scanner Facebook

UPDATE (WKOW) -- A Minnesota man has died after a crash involving a semi-truck full of bees.

It happened on I-90 eastbound near the Wisconsin Dells at around 10:40 Saturday night. The Wisconsin State Patrol says a car crossed into oncoming traffic, hitting the semi, which rolled over and caught fire before some of the bees were released.

Some people nearby, including responding troopers, were stung.

Officials say the 63-year-old man driving the car died and a 30-year-old woman has life-threatening injuries. The semi driver is expected to be ok.

The State Patrol says Bees and Baskets of Cazenovia helped them recover the bees.

********

DELTON (WKOW) -- 

One person was killed in an accident between a semi-truck full of bees and a sedan in Delton. 

Wisconsin State Police say it happened on 90-94 just before 11 Saturday night. 

Sauk County Medical Examiner Greg Hahn says one person was killed in the accident. His office is not yet releasing the identity of the deceased. An autopsy is scheduled for Monday. 

There were multiple injuries, and at least one person was taken to the hospital by MedFlight. 

That semi ended up engulfed in flames, and its cargo swarmed out. It was carrying a shipment of live bees. 

Officials say several troopers were stung while controlling the scene. 

All lanes of traffic re-opened shortly before 7:00 a.m. Sunday.

1 driver critically injured in 2-truck head-on collision near Milton, Delaware. He faces DUI charges if he makes it.

 robin brown, The News Journal 11:03 p.m. EDT July 19, 2015

A pickup truck driver, in critical condition after hitting another truck, will be charged with driving under the influence and other offenses in the Sunday crash near Milton, state police say.

The crash was reported at 3:36 p.m. on Cave Neck Road (Del. 88), east of Milton, Sgt. Richard D. Bratz said.

Ray Richardson, 55, of Lewes was eastbound when his truck crossed over the center lane and crashed head-on into another truck pulling a trailer in the westbound lane, Bratz said.

Richardson, who was using a seat belt at the time of the crash, was taken by emergency medical services to Beebe Medical Center in Lewes, he said.

He later was flown to Christiana Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, he added.

Elisandro Rodriguez-Perez, 28, of Millsboro, also using a seat belt as he drove the westbound truck, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening, Bratz said. He was taken by emergency medical services to Beebe Medical Center.

Richardson is being charged with DUI, second-degree vehicular assault and several other charges, Bratz said.

The crash closed Cave Neck Road in both directions for about two hours.

State police continue to investigate the crash, assisted by the force’s Collision Reconstruction Unit, Bratz said.