Vol. 40, No. 316

For more information, contact Sgt. Gregory Rhodes, Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, 302-739-9913 or 302-542-6102, or Joanna Wilson, Public Affairs, 302-739-9902.

Fish and Wildlife Enforcement agents respond to two Labor Day boat accidents

DOVER (Sept. 10, 2010) – DNREC Division of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement agents responded to two boating accidents on Monday, Sept. 6.

In the first incident, a New Jersey man was operating a 14-foot Boston whaler pulling two persons in a tube on Rehoboth Bay. While making a turn at a high rate of speed, the operator attempted to catch a female passenger who was falling out of the boat and both fell overboard.  

The boat circled back and struck the female passenger in the head, causing cuts and bruises. The operator, passenger and the two people in the tube swam to shore. The injured passenger was taken to Beebe Medical Center in Lewes and treated for her injuries. The boat continued to circle at a high rate of speed until it ran aground in the marsh.

The boat operator, Scott LaFontaine, age 21, of Glassboro, N.J., was charged with negligent operation of a vessel.

In the second incident, a 28-foot speed boat returning to Lewes missed Roosevelt Inlet and ran aground on the beach near the rock jetty. No one aboard the boat was injured, and the boat was removed by a boat towing service.

The operator, Scott G. Douglas, age 47, was charged with operating a vessel under the influence of alcohol, failing to maintain a proper lookout, unsafe speed during a time of restricted visibility and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child. He was taken to Justice of the Peace Court 3 in Georgetown for arraignment. The case is pending in D.U.I. Court 14.

For further information, contact Sgt. Gregory Rhodes, Fish and Wildlife Enforcement, at 302-739-9913.