The 37-foot Sea Ray Sundancer involved in an accident where the boat struck a span of the Francis Scott Key Bridge with eight people aboard, July 24, 2015. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Steven Bursell)
JULY 26, 2015
Two Baltimore women were killed early Sunday when a 37-foot boat struck a concrete abutment just south of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, emergency officials said.
Six people were hospitalized in the crash, Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson said.
The women who died were identified as Windy Lawson, 41, and Kimberly Ervin, 45.
The crash was first reported to authorities at 3:08 a.m., Thomson said. She said authorities recovered one of the women's bodies at 8:20 a.m. and the second just before 1 p.m.
Caption Patapsco River boating incident
Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun
Two people died after a boat struck an abutment in the Patapsco River just south of the Key Bridge early Sunday morning. Personnel are on board the boat as it is secured near Fort Carroll Sunday afternoon.
Caption Patapsco River boating incident
Amy Davis, Baltimore Sun
Two people died after a boat struck an abutment in the Patapsco River just south of the Key Bridge early Sunday morning.
Caption Boating incident at Key Bridge
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police
Emergency crews are searching from land, water and air for a boater missing after an early Sunday incident near the Key Bridge. A boat struck an object, tossing two of its eight passengers into the Patapsco River. A woman died, officials said.
Caption Boat from early morning crash at Key Bridge
U.S. Coast Guard
Six people were injured and at least one was killed when this boat struck something near the Key Bridge early Sunday morning. One person remained missing Sunday.
The group had gone out for dinner and drinks Saturday night at the Hard Yacht Cafe in Dundalk, where they met the boat's operator, Thomson said. Operator Timothy Wilson, 55, invited the group for a ride to Fells Point, where they spent several hours in the bars, Thomson said.
The crash occurred as the boat approached the Key Bridge on the way back to Dundalk, she said. The boat, a Sea Ray Sundancer registered to an owner from Baltimore, struck one of four concrete abutments on the Dundalk side of the Patapsco River, Thomson said.
The structures are situated along the shipping channel, 50 yards from the bridge, to prevent it from being struck by boats. The bridge, which carries Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River, was not damaged, the Coast Guard said.
Four of the eight people on board the boat were ejected, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Two people were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, two were taken to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and two were taken to University of Maryland Medical Center.
The individuals involved do not appear to have been wearing life jackets, Thomson said.
Baltimore County police and fire departments, the Coast Guard, Baltimore police, Maryland State Police, the Maryland Transportation Authority and a Sonar dive team from Anne Arundel County responded to the accident. A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Atlantic City, N.J., located the first missing boater, the Coast Guard said.
Investigators are working to determine the cause of the crash, Thomson said.
Two other people died in water-related mishaps in Maryland during the weekend.
The body of a Salisbury man was recovered Saturday after an accident on the Wicomico River, Natural Resources Police said. Kenneth Randolph Vickers Jr., 50, was ejected when his boat struck a dredge pontoon, witnesses told police. A woman on board was treated for injuries.
Authorities were also searching for one of two brothers reported missing in the Chesapeake Bay. Three people were swimming in deep water near Cove Point in Calvert County, witnesses told police. A juvenile made it back to shore, police said, but the two men disappeared. On Sunday afternoon, crews recovered the body of one of the men.
Fourteen people have died in water-related accidents in Maryland this year.
Baltimore Sun reporter Colin Campbell contributed to this article
Source: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-co-boating-20150726-story.html#panel=comments
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July 26th, 2015
The Coast Guard and partner agencies are searching for a missing boater Sunday in the Patapsco River near Dundalk.
A member of the Maryland Transit Authority notified Coast Guard Sector Baltimore watchstanders Sunday at approximately 3:30 a.m. reporting a boat struck a section of the Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Eight boaters aboard a 37-foot Sea Ray Sundancer, registered to an owner in Baltimore, were involved in the accident. Four of the boaters were ejected, two of whom were rescued.
Two boaters were medically evacuated to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, two were transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and two were treated on scene.
A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, New Jersey, located the body of one of the missing boaters. Maryland Natural Resources Police recovered the body at approximately 8:30 a.m.
Assisting in the search were crews from:
- Anne Arundel Sonar Dive Team
- Baltimore County Fire
- Baltimore County Police
- Baltimore Police
- Coast Guard Station Curtis Bay
- Maryland Police
- MTA Police
Foreseeable. Predictable. And therefore avoidable. Stupid...stupid...stupid. The operator of the boat needs to adopt a new personal motto: "It could be that the only purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others." If there is a silver lining to this, it's that no innocent children were involved. As for the adults, no sympathy whatsoever. What this bunch of ignorant, apparent binge drinkers have done is to pour fuel onto the fiery witch hunt against competent boaters who may want to drink a cold beer. A cold beer...as in one, single, uno. And to those who will write in saying I am heartless, I say, "Bring it!"
Tug1947
at 11:58 PM July 26, 2015