Kaden Frederick (boy age 9) killed by pontoon boat propeller in Maryland
Kaden Frederick, 9 of Howell New Jersey, was among 17 people on a rental pontoon boat in Sinepuxent Bay near Ocean City Maryland on Wednesday afternoon August 17th.
Four people, including Kaden, were bow riding / bowriding with their legs dangling off the front of the pontoon boat. About 2:50 pm Kaden Frederick and an 11 year old fell overboard.
The operator could not stop the boat in time. Both children were struck by the rental pontoon boat propeller. Kaden was struck several times by the propeller.
A group of paramedics were nearby on a pontoon boat. Six jumped in from the nearby boat to help. Kaden went into cardiac arrest and died.
The other child (11 year old) was taken to a local hospital with lacerations. Authorities note it is illegal to bow ride in Maryland.
The pontoon boat had been rented from Under the Bridge Water Sports in Ocean City Maryland.
Under the Bridge rental pontoon boats
Among the many ways to prevent or mitigate over the bow pontoon boat propeller accidents are:
- Improve rental boat education – specifically tell them of the dangers of bow riding, use the USCG educational materials, inform renters of any local laws against bow riding. See RentalBoatSafety.com
- Do not put pontoon boats in rental fleets if they extend forward of the front rail
- Put propeller guards on pontoon boats with top speeds of ten miles per hour or less
- On pontoon boats in which the front deck extends forward beyond the front rail, design the boat in a way making it extremely uncomfortable to sit up there when underway (see Defensive Architecture in our papers above)
- Make sure pontoon boat gate designs are VERY solid and secure
- Consider increasing height of the front rail to reduce the number of adults from falling over it
- Use high visibility warnings telling of and illustrating the dangers of bow riding
- Public Service announcements visually showing what can happen to bow riders of pontoon boats AND informing boaters of local laws against bow riding
- Continue Operation Dry Water to discourage excessive use of alcohol on the water
As we said before, most of these accidents are preventable or can be mitigated. We direct anybody interested in actually addressing this issue to three of our previous reports:
- Preventing Pontoon Boat “Over the Bow” Propeller Accidents
- Preventing Pontoon Boat Over the Bow Propeller Accidents by DESIGN
- List of over 150 over the bow pontoon boat propeller accidents
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Thursday, August 18, 2016 10:44AM
OCEAN CITY, Maryland (WABC) -- A 9-year-old boy from New Jersey died Wednesday when he fell out of a boat and was struck by the propeller in Ocean City, Maryland.
Natural Resources Police spokeswoman Candy Thomson identified the boy as Kaden Frederick, of Howell, New Jersey.
Thomson says 17 people were on the rented pontoon boat in Sinepuxent Bay near Ocean City on Wednesday afternoon, and Frederick was reportedly one of four people sitting with their legs dangling from the front of the boat as it moved. That is illegal in Maryland.
Frederick apparently fell, and the operator couldn't stop in time. The propeller hit the boy, and emergency crews were unable to resuscitate him.
Thomson says Frederick was the 11th person killed while boating this year in Maryland, one of three this week.
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BOW RIDING IS A VIOLATION OF MARYLAND & FEDERAL SAFE BOATING LAWS
DON'T BOW RIDE LIKE THIS, AT BEST IT CAN LEAD TO A FINE, AT WORST INJURY & EVEN DEATH!
THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD 5TH DISTRICT, AS WELL AS ALL OTHER DISTRICTS, IN RESPONSE TO A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN ACCIDENTS & FATALITIES, HAS INITIATED OPERATION BOW RIDER. THIS OPERATION FOCUSES ON THE DANGERS OF UNSAFE RECREATIONAL BOATING, SPECIFICALLY BOW RIDING.
It’s a warm day and the water is calm. The kids are enjoying the day riding on the bow of the boat. Their legs, dangling over the side, catch the water jumping up from the bow. All of sudden, a rogue wave or wake from a boat that had passed some time ago hits your boat and causes one of the kids to slide under the rail. If they are really lucky, they slide off to the side. But most times a person falling from the bow will go under the boat and get hit by the rotating blades of the prop. Don’t let this happen to any passenger on your boat.
“Recently there has been an increase in boating deaths,” commented Wally Dawson, Flotilla 33 Commander. “The primary contributing factor in 20% of the fatalities was the standing or sitting on the gunwales, bow or transom of boats.”
The United States Coast Guard 5th District, in response to a dramatic increase in accidents & fatalities has initiated operation bow rider. This operation focuses on the dangers of unsafe recreational boating, specifically bow riding.
Bow riding is more of a contributor to boating fatalities then alcohol”, said Don Gallagher, Flotilla 33’s Staff Officer For Education. “Fatalities due to alcohol were 15% of the on the water fatalities during 2008, slightly less than bow riding.” In addition to bow riding and alcohol, operator inattention, excessive speed and failure to post a lookout were also causes for recreational boating accidents.
“Senior Chief Matthew Welsh, Officer In Charge at Coast Guard Station Milford Haven, when asked responded "You wouldn’t let your child ride on the hood of the car to go to the store, but that is essentially what you are doing when you let them bow ride. Bow riding is one of the most dangerous things you can do. There's nothing worse than trying to console a parent that just accidently killed their own child."
DON'T LET A FUN DAY ON THE WATER TURN INTO A TRAGEDY,
BOAT SAFE!