Holiday Accident Kills Five

Boat/US Magazine, Sept, 1999

Five men, all of them reportedly intoxicated, were killed over the July 4th holiday weekend when a 27-foot high-performance powerboat speeding at full throttle struck a 22-foot runabout on Minnesota's St. Croix River. Because of the high number of fatalities, the National Transportation Safety Board was investigating. The throttle placement indicated that the larger boat likely was going 70 mph at the time of impact, according to Phil Frame, an NTSB spokesman. The 1:25 a.m. crash on July 3 happened between Stillwater and Hudson, WI. Killed instantly upon impact were two men on the 22-foot Bayliner; the operator of the speeding 27-foot Advantage and both of his passengers drowned following the collision.

The two operators had blood alcohol levels more than twice the legal limit in Minnesota and both had prior drunk driving convictions. All three passengers who died were intoxicated as well.

Investigators are trying to verify reports that the boats were racing or doing maneuvers such as figure eights before the collision. The Bayliner was struck at a 45-degree angle but it's not known how fast it was going.

In the only study to date of nighttime boating fatalities, the BOAT/U.S. Foundation found that a shocking 62% of fatal accidents occurring at night involve alcohol and a boater has a 725% greater risk of being killed in a boating accident at night. Speed and visibility were a factor in only 15% of nighttime fatal accidents.