Officials, locals say boating accidents uncommon in harbor
Personal Injury News
Article Date: 6/30/2009 | Resource: MLG
Officials, locals say boating accidents uncommon in harbor
“But Huntington Harbour area where two were killed over the weekend is a favorite spot for boaters to speed.”
Officials and locals say accidents in the Huntington Beach Harbour area where two men died over the weekend are uncommon and the onus is on boaters to watch for harbor bridges.
“Most types of accidents are more along the lines of a boat colliding into another or caught on fire,” said Sgt. John Hollenbeck with the county’s Harbor Patrol said. “Accidents like what happened the other day are extremely rare.”
Two men were killed and one injured after their inflatable boat crashed into a bridge early Saturday. Witnesses saw the three
Huntington Beach men speeding, making sharp turns and circles in the water before the crash, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Greg Grani, who lives adjacent to the bridge, said the area is a favorite for boaters to test the limits. He said he sees one or two boat speeding every weekend during the summer. The speed limit in the harbor is 5 mph or no wakes behind the boat.
“When in the main channel anybody can see you, but when you turn the corner and the tide is down there is nobody to watch you,” he said. “They love to gun it right here.”
Huntington Harbour, in northern Huntington Beach, is comprised of five man-made islands bounded by water channels. There are five main bridges for pedestrians and vehicles in the harbor that lead onto each of the islands. The harbor’s bridges are owned by the city and inspected by California Department of Transportation.
The bridge where the crash occurred had four street lights on top of it.
“You look at that, and how the heck did they hit that bridge with four street lights on it,” Grani said.
There are no rules in the harbor about whether a boat can go under a bridge.
“It is just a matter of if your boat is going to fit or is it not,” Hollenbeck said.
The three men were also seen drinking at local bars and empty alcoholic drink containers were found in the boat, but officials are waiting for toxicology results to determine whether the driver was intoxicated at the time of the crash, Amormino said. Shawn Michael Wilson, 35, and Caleb Steele, 30, were killed in the crash and James Geekie, 37, was injured.
Harbor patrol said unlike vehicular rules that say drivers cannot have an open alcoholic beverage in the car, boating rules allow open alcoholic containers. The driver can be holding an open alcoholic drink but cannot have more than a .08 blood alcohol limit.
“It is extremely scary,” said Hollenbeck about drinking and boating. “It does concern us.”
Information about boating rules at www.dbw.ca.gov.
For more information regarding this article please contact:
Jeffrey Marquart
(949)589-0150
jmarquart@marquartlawgroup.com