One teen dead, four injured in boat crash in Manasquan River
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/200...d_in_boat.html
Terrible tragedy, thoughts and prayers to all the familiies.
One teen dead, four injured in boat crash in Manasquan River
by Mark Mueller and Sharon Adarlo/ The Star-Ledger Friday May 22, 2009, 9:02 PM
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_imp...quan-Mills.jpgAndrew Mills/ The Star-LedgerManasquan police and first-aiders rush a teenage girl to a water taxi for transport to a waiting ambulance in Brielle after two boats collided on the Manasquan River between Brielle and Point Pleasant Beach at about 7:40 p.m. today. One person died, two were critically injured and two others suffered injuries.
In a tragic start to the Memorial Day weekend, one teenager was killed and two others were critically injured tonight when their boat collided with a larger vessel on the Manasquan River, authorities and witnesses said.
Two other teens who had been aboard the smaller boat, a 15-foot skiff, suffered less serious injuries in the 7:40 p.m. collision, near the mouth of the Manasquan Inlet between Point Pleasant Beach and Brielle.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Chris McLaughlin said two men aboard the larger boat, a 25-foot Boston Whaler that goes by the name Pura Vida, were not injured.
The victims' identities were not immediately released. Witnesses said the smaller boat's five occupants all appeared to be teens between the ages of 13 and 16. Four of them were girls, the witnesses said.
The crash left the 15-footer a shattered, half-sunk wreck, its tail shorn off and its front end heavily damaged. The boat's center console, which contains the vessel's controls, had been ripped from the hull.
The two boats had been traveling in opposite directions -- the skiff heading into the inlet, the Boston Whaler motoring out -- when the skiff's pilot somehow lost control, leading to the collision, McLaughlin said. He said it remained unclear if drugs or alcohol played a role.
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John Godwin was in his own boat nearby when he heard the crash. From the sound, he knew immediately it was trouble.
"It was a loud bang," said Godwin, 34, of Point Pleasant Beach. "It was very clear that two boats had collided with one another. It sounded very similar to a car accident."
Godwin said he brought his boat alongside the shattered vessel and climbed aboard, finding two teenage girls. The others had been pitched overboard, he said.
One of the girls was pinned by the dislodged center console. The other lay on the deck. Both were in obvious pain, said Godwin, still shaken by the incident 30 minutes afterward.
Godwin said he managed to free the pinned girl and disengaged the engine and fuel to avoid an explosion. He then tended to the bloodied victims as best he could.
"I was trying to calm them down," he said. "They were really banged up bad. They had lacerations, and the boat was full of cold water. They were both in shock."
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates_imp...uan-Mills2.jpgAndrew Mills/ The Star-LedgerManasquan police and first-aiders rush a teenage girl to a water taxi for transport to a waiting ambulance in Brielle after two boats collided on the Manasquan River.
Other rescuers soon arrived. The girls were placed on backboards and transported by water taxi to a marina in Brielle, near the River House restaurant.
Godwin called the immediate aftermath "chaos," with witnesses and authorities searching the water for the three who had gone overboard. All three were recovered.
Two of the injured were flown by State Police helicopter to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a State Police spokesman. Two others were taken to the same hospital by ambulance.
McLaughlin, the Coast Guard spokesman, said two remained in critical condition late tonight. The other two were listed in good condition, he said.
The teens' boat came to rest in about 2 feet of water near Fishermen's Cove, a conservation area also known as Dog Beach. The Coast Guard towed the Boston Whaler, which also suffered extensive damage, to the Coast Guard station in Point Pleasant Beach.
In addition to the Coast Guard and State Police, numerous local police departments and rescue agencies responded to the crash. The New York Police Department dispatched a helicopter.
Staff writers Andrew Mills and MaryAnn Spoto contributed to this report.
