Florida Ranks 1st in Boating Deaths in U.S.
A 24-year-old man died and two others were injured last month following a boating accident along the Intracoastal Highway near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, according to a report in the Sun-Sentinel.
The Hollywood, Florida, man who was killed, named Dalton Joseph Shirley, was thrown from the boat after it crashed into a concrete dock.
Two others on the motorboat, named Justina Coronez and Austin Lail, were both injured in the accident and were later taken to Broward Health Medical Center. Another man on the boat was uninjured in the collision.
The boat was moving at a high speed and traveling side by side with another boat when it crashed into the concrete dock. The boat was headed south on the Intracoastal Highway at the time, the report states. Those in the other boat were friends with those aboard the motorboat that crashed into the dock, the authorities told the Sun-Sentinel.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is conducting a criminal investigation into the crash to determine the driver of the boat and whether speed and/or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
Those aboard the boat attempted to resuscitate Shirley, but the 24-year-old man was declared dead at the scene.
A neighbor on the scene told the Sun-Sentinel that he attempted to assist the injured after he heard the collision outside. He also said he noticed that a portion of his neighbor’s dock had been broken off in the crash.
Florida Ranks 1st In Boating Incidents in U.S.
Florida had the most boating-related deaths of all other states, according to 2013 data from the U.S. Coast Guard Division of Auxiliary and Boating Safety. There were 51 boating-related fatalities in Florida, while California saw 34 and Texas saw 28, rounding out the top three states with the most deaths in 2013, according to the data. The Coast Guard has not published new state-by-state data as of this print date.
In 2014, there were 73 boating-related fatalities in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. There are nearly 900,000 registered water-faring vessels in the state. In 2014, most fatal accidents occurred in the summertime, with July and August showing a peak in the number of deaths, according to the data.
The most common time of day for these fatal incidents was between 10 a.m. and noon, followed by 4 and 6 p.m. The most common type of fatal boating incidents occurred while those on board were cruising and were most commonly related to falling overboard accidents.. The primary cause of death in these incidents was drowning at 70%, according to the data, and most of those who died were men, at 86%.
Have you or a loved one been hurt in a boating incident?
If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed in a boating incident, you may be eligible for compensation. If the operator of the boat involved in a collision was intoxicated, driving negligently or a number of other reasons, you may be able to receive compensation for lost wages, future medical bills and pain and suffering. Contact Fort Lauderdale lawyers Boone & Davis today.
