Another blow to performance boats in our area!

[Twin27Advantage]

"Two boats, a 28-foot Baja speed boat and a 19-foot Wellcraft were driving at each other"

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/ottawa_county/One_missing_in_Grand_River

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/news_story.aspx?storyid=111234&catid=14

http://www.grandhaventribune.com/paid/294932471345094.bsp

[MarylandMark]

RIP

drunk, dark, didn't know the rules of the road- some how those are always the ones that survive..

[HiZ]

RIP

drunk, dark, didn't know the rules of the road

you don't have to be smart to buy a boat!

[baronmarine]

my buddys boat is right near where the no wake ends. he said when they took off it was sticks forward wide open from a idle. never let off until i'm sure the crash. short time later the law started heading that way. very very sad for the family.

todd

[Twin27Advantage]

I am 90 percent sure those guys were by us coming up to the draw bridge Just before this happened. They were haulen butt in the no wake and pulled along my port side about 10 feet away starring at us. Once we came through the bridge they realized I was going to spring lake so they slowed down and came around my transom (real close) and went toward grand isle marina )near where it happened) on my starboard side.

We pulled into keenan marina, tied up and a few minutes later heard the sirens. Timing wise it had to be them since the distance to the end of the no wake where they took off was about the same.

It was not completely dark out yet, it was a dark dusk if that makes sense. That section of river has plenty of room. They should not have been running so close to others boats. But...you cant fix stupid.

[HOTROD2]

Can't fix stupid or drunk! or can you fix drunk?

[Wrinkleface]

:(

[Magic Medicine]

Sad to hear!

[Chris]

Another boat tragedy.

And another situation where a lifejacket would have prevented a fatality.

[MattBMiller]

Another boat tragedy.

And another situation where a lifejacket would have prevented a fatality.

Exactly, still sad to hear.

[Ratickle]

Looks like someone who has other problems with this kind of stuff possibly....


Speed boat driver tests to take weeks,Will not know potential charges
Updated: Monday, 13 Jul 2009, 6:23 PM EDT
Published : Monday, 13 Jul 2009, 4:32 PM EDT

Ken Kolker
GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (WOOD) - A Grand Haven man whose boat collided with another on the Grand River, killing a Fruitport man, may have to wait weeks to learn whether he will face charges.

Victor Gouveia, who has a long driving record, acknowledges drinking alcohol while out on his boat Saturday.

The question for police: How much?

Gouveia took a breathalyzer test a fter the crash that killed Edward Johnson , 52, and seriously injured Johnson's girlfriend, 49-year-old Barbara Briggs.

Ottawa County deputies won't release results. They arrested Gouveia but released him a short time later.

Now, officials are waiting for those results, which could take weeks.

Gouveia's driving record includes two speeding tickets, citations for careless driving, failing to yield causing an injury, and driving on a suspended license several times.

He and his friends spent the afternoon on his 28-foot Baja, starting at 1 p.m., police say. They anchored it off Grand Haven State Park in Lake Michigan, then were headed back up the Grand River when Gouveia collided with Johnson's westbound 19-foot boat.

It's legal to drink alcohol while operating a boat, but a blood-alcohol level higher than 0.10 is considered intoxicated.

[Dude! Sweet!]

Nasty wreck in Havasu last weekend killed someone too. Three boats involved.

Officials say alcohol was a factor in a deadly boating accident on the Colorado River on July 11, 2009 that killed 23-year-old David Kerber of Moreno Valley and injured seven others. According to a news report in the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Kerber was driving his 1999 Lavey Craft powerboat south on the river near the entrance to Lake Havasu, when he tried to pass a 1989 Caribbean powerboat operated by Michael Coleman. Kerber then collided with a northbound 2001 Warlock powerboat operated by Joal Patterson. Kerber's boat was also hit by Coleman's boat, which was unable to avoid the collision.

Kerber was thrown off the boat. A San Bernardino County Sheriff's team recovered his body that was found floating face down in the river. A passenger on Kerber's boat sustained minor injuries. Five passengers on the Warlock were taken to an area hospital with injuries. Patterson sustained internal injuries. A woman aboard the Caribbean suffered head injuries. Sheriff's officials say alcohol was involved, but haven't said which party is suspected of drinking. No arrests have been made yet in this case.

And if you're curious about where this is all going to end up, this is the web site where I pulled that quote...

http://www.californiainjuryblog.com/2009/07/boating-accident-personal-injury-lawyer-attorney-lake-havasu-0239276.html

[tomcei]

I hate to be the buzz killer, but it seems like every time I read about this stuff alcohol is involved.

[Wrinkleface]

I hate to be the buzz killer, but it seems like every time I read about this stuff alcohol is involved.

The night/dark thing seems 2 come up alot also!!:(

[rschap1]

VERY sad. Condolences to the families.

[boatme]

sad and stupid

alchaul, night time, New boat (to him) and not enough experiance to know better

[FULL FORCE]

I have not driven at night yet this season because of all this stuff going on, I used to head back on sat nights since I loved night cruises, but I think i am just staying put from now on unless maybe a clear full moon night...but even then just not sure anymore...

Sucks to hear these storys..

[C_Spray]

So, refresh my memory as to why drunk boating crackdowns are a bad idea. I was hammered for supporting these a few weeks back. Now.... :(

[Dude! Sweet!]

And another one...

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/boat-junior-program-2494658-lifeguard-lifeguards

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Orange County Sheriff's Department officials have identified Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Greg Crow as the driver of the lifeguard boat that struck and killed an 11-year-old junior lifeguard during a routine training exercise.

Orange County Sheriff spokesman Jim Amormino said Allyssa Squirrell of Laguna Hills sustained deep cuts to her leg and hip after she was hit by the boat while swimming in the ocean Tuesday. A deckhand and an instructor for the Junior Lifeguard Program were also part of the exercise, but they have not been identified.

[Chris]

And another one...

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/boat-junior-program-2494658-lifeguard-lifeguards

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Orange County Sheriff's Department officials have identified Huntington Beach Marine Safety Lt. Greg Crow as the driver of the lifeguard boat that struck and killed an 11-year-old junior lifeguard during a routine training exercise.

Orange County Sheriff spokesman Jim Amormino said Allyssa Squirrell of Laguna Hills sustained deep cuts to her leg and hip after she was hit by the boat while swimming in the ocean Tuesday. A deckhand and an instructor for the Junior Lifeguard Program were also part of the exercise, but they have not been identified.

That's very sad and tragic- it always is when people doing things to hep others suffer from these tragedies.

But I gotta' ask. Why the hell do they have prop driven boats to do this stuff with? If I had a boat intended for plucking people out of the water- especially kids-in-training, I'd be damn sure it was a jet.

[Ratickle]

Talked to my friend on Havasu about the accident. He says it's only a matter of time before there's a speed limit because of mostly the drinking and driving issue.

[Dude! Sweet!]

That's very sad and tragic- it always is when people doing things to hep others suffer from these tragedies.

But I gotta' ask. Why the hell do they have prop driven boats to do this stuff with? If I had a boat intended for plucking people out of the water- especially kids-in-training, I'd be damn sure it was a jet.

I always assumed they were jets, but I guess they're big V-drive or Inboards. There are a lot of these boats around and I'm guessing that many have been around for a long time.

[Dude! Sweet!]

Talked to my friend on Havasu about the accident. He says it's only a matter of time before there's a speed limit because of mostly the drinking and driving issue.

The thing I struggle with there is that BUI is already illegal. So if someone's willing to break the BUI law, is the speed limit really going to be a big deal to them. As far as the speed limit stuff goes, we really don't have anyone to blame but the boating community at large, ya know...

[BGIII]

Grand Haven man charged in fatal boating crash
by John Tunison | The Grand Rapids Press
Thursday August 13, 2009, 10:11 AM

GRAND HAVEN -- A Grand Haven man was arraigned on felony charges this morning, stemming from a July boat crash in Spring Lake Township that killed one man and injured a passenger.

Victor Gouveia, 24, is charged with drunken driving causing death and drunken driving causing injury for the collision that killed Edward Johnson, 53, of Fruitport and injured passenger Barbara Briggs, 48, of Kalamazoo.

Gouveia was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.

Police say Johnson was operating a 19-foot Wellcraft when it collided with a 28-foot Baja driven by Gouveia, who was taken to the Ottawa County Jail after the crash for suspicion of drunken boating but released without being charged, pending laboratory results.

[fund razor]

I always assumed they were jets, but I guess they're big V-drive or Inboards. There are a lot of these boats around and I'm guessing that many have been around for a long time.

Any idea why there is a washer and a dryer on deck?