On February 3, 2011, a young boater made a Boating Safety mistake that cost a 14 year old friend to lose her leg but still lucky enough to be alive.
The headlines read: Girl, 14, struck by boat propeller near Juno Beach pier, in critical condition and scheduled to have her leg amputated today
Boating safety around people in the water is First and Foremost.
Rule 1 in Boating Safety: Never, ever have your boat in gear when around people in the water. Rule 2: Read Rule 1.
Lack of Boating Safety: Here is what happened.
It's a beautiful day in Juno Beach, Florida which is near West Palm Beach. It is a little windy and the surf was a little choppy but still a great day to be Boating. Friends are playing on the beach, the driver of the boat has friends onboard and he wants to pick up those friends from the beach. He starts to nuzzle his 22' Cobia boat toward shore and even though the lifeguards were telling him to get his boat out of the swimming area, he challenges them by ignoring them. I assume that he was thinking that he was only there for a short time to pick up his friends from the water.
The waves are building and as every surfer knows, they come in sets so that you can be in 1 foot waves and then a set of 3 foot waves will show up. In this case, the girls walking out to the boat commented on how high the waves were. Because of their perspective of standing in the water and seeing the videos after, they were probably only about 1 or 1 1/2 feet tall. It is very choppy and boats do not ride well in waves near the beach and it is easy to lose control if you don't keep it into the waves. They are only in about 3 feet of water. Friends now approach the boat and start to get in. The driver, trying to keep the boat from going ashore is putting the boat into gear to keep it straight. One girl is starting to get in when a wave hits the boat, knocks her down and over and the boat driver throttles up to keep the boat off the beach and she rolls back and the propeller hits her leg, causing major damage. He knows that something has happened and apparently leaves the scene, not to escape, but to keep the boat from beaching and also to get to the dock quickly to get back and help out. The driver and his friends were not going to be able to help while in 15 feet of water. The boat, a 22' Cobia, has several versions and the police have not released which one it is but I'm going to assume that it is the center console version since that is the most popular among young boaters in South Florida. The point here is that the location of the propeller is only a foot away from the location of the swim ladder. In a panic, a driver might not even see a person by the props.
First and foremost, this is a strong case for Licensing Boaters. Boating Safety, Courtesy and Rules of the Road should be required of all boaters. Many don't even know that they are totally responsible for what their boat does, whether it be what their wake does or, in this case, an accident. I'm sure the PI lawyers have swarmmed to the girls side to get this business because there is no defense around it. Friendships and relationships are now going to be broken, a girl will lose her leg, millions of dollars will be sued for and criminal charges will probably be filed for negligence, just because a few Boating Safety rules were broken.
girl accident by golden-malick
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5909456
The headlines read: Girl, 14, struck by boat propeller near Juno Beach pier, in critical condition and scheduled to have her leg amputated today
Boating safety around people in the water is First and Foremost.
Rule 1 in Boating Safety: Never, ever have your boat in gear when around people in the water. Rule 2: Read Rule 1.
Lack of Boating Safety: Here is what happened.
It's a beautiful day in Juno Beach, Florida which is near West Palm Beach. It is a little windy and the surf was a little choppy but still a great day to be Boating. Friends are playing on the beach, the driver of the boat has friends onboard and he wants to pick up those friends from the beach. He starts to nuzzle his 22' Cobia boat toward shore and even though the lifeguards were telling him to get his boat out of the swimming area, he challenges them by ignoring them. I assume that he was thinking that he was only there for a short time to pick up his friends from the water.
The waves are building and as every surfer knows, they come in sets so that you can be in 1 foot waves and then a set of 3 foot waves will show up. In this case, the girls walking out to the boat commented on how high the waves were. Because of their perspective of standing in the water and seeing the videos after, they were probably only about 1 or 1 1/2 feet tall. It is very choppy and boats do not ride well in waves near the beach and it is easy to lose control if you don't keep it into the waves. They are only in about 3 feet of water. Friends now approach the boat and start to get in. The driver, trying to keep the boat from going ashore is putting the boat into gear to keep it straight. One girl is starting to get in when a wave hits the boat, knocks her down and over and the boat driver throttles up to keep the boat off the beach and she rolls back and the propeller hits her leg, causing major damage. He knows that something has happened and apparently leaves the scene, not to escape, but to keep the boat from beaching and also to get to the dock quickly to get back and help out. The driver and his friends were not going to be able to help while in 15 feet of water. The boat, a 22' Cobia, has several versions and the police have not released which one it is but I'm going to assume that it is the center console version since that is the most popular among young boaters in South Florida. The point here is that the location of the propeller is only a foot away from the location of the swim ladder. In a panic, a driver might not even see a person by the props.
First and foremost, this is a strong case for Licensing Boaters. Boating Safety, Courtesy and Rules of the Road should be required of all boaters. Many don't even know that they are totally responsible for what their boat does, whether it be what their wake does or, in this case, an accident. I'm sure the PI lawyers have swarmmed to the girls side to get this business because there is no defense around it. Friendships and relationships are now going to be broken, a girl will lose her leg, millions of dollars will be sued for and criminal charges will probably be filed for negligence, just because a few Boating Safety rules were broken.
girl accident by golden-malick
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5909456
