4 people have been injured after their 53½-foot sport fishing boat, Get Sum III, ran aground Saturday near Story Island in the Manahawkin Bay.

4 injured in boating accident

Erik Larsen, @Erik_Larsen 9:45 p.m. EDT July 11, 2015

(Photo: Courtesy U.S. Coast Guard)

LITTLE EGG HARBOR, NJ

Four people have been injured after their 53½-foot sport fishing boat ran aground Saturday near Story Island in the Manahawkin Bay. 

At least one person was transported to the Regional Trauma Center at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. The other three were taken to Southern Ocean Medical Center in Stafford, State Police Sgt. Jeff Flynn said.

"Boats don't have brakes," said Chief Petty Officer Nick Ameen of the U.S. Coast Guard, when asked what caused the injuries. The Coast Guard and the New Jersey State Police Marine Services Bureau both responded to the scene.

Ameen, a spokesman for the Coast Guard in Atlantic City, said the exact speed of the vessel had not been determined.

Story Island is located off the coast of Little Egg Harbor Township in the Manahawkin Bay. (Photo: Google Maps)

The vessel, identified as Get Sum III, has a home port in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township, Ameen said.

In total, there were 13 people aboard the vessel. The injured included two men, ages 72 and 55, with head injuries; and two women, ages 61 and 20, the latter with a broken arm, according to authorities.

The circumstances surrounding the crash were under investigation Saturday evening, Flynn said.

 

The accident was first reported about 2 p.m. Saturday.

Story Island is located just off the coast of the Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area and is part of Little Egg Harbor Township.