Aiden McKitrick
cropped from a Facebook image

The young boy, Aiden McKitrick, fell overboard and was struck by the pontoon boat’s propeller. His father, a Lewisville Texas firefighter, pulled Aiden from the water, and he was taken to Children’s Medical Center in Dallas in critical condition.

The Lewisville Firefighters Association is raising funds on GoFundMe to help Aiden McKitrick’s family with medical expenses.

Aiden McKitrick and his father

Updates on Aiden’s Status

7 May 2016 Dallas News quoted an assistant fire chief telling Fox4 “He’s got some injuries that will affect him the rest of his life …. He’s going to have therapies, surgeries and medical expenses.”

The Boat

We found a note on Facebook that may have been posted earlier the day of the accident saying the boy’s father owned a 2010 Harris pontoon boat that had some underwater lighting installed on it.

We previously addressed the issue of children falling from pontoon boats and being struck by the pontoon boat propeller in:

• Pontoon Boat Over the Bow Propeller Accidents in which we list about 150 similar accidents.
• Preventing Pontoon Boat “Over the Bow” Accidents in which we enumerate several ways to prevent these accidents, and especially how to prevent those involving children
• Preventing Pontoon Boat Over the Bow Propeller Accidents by DESIGN in which we identify several engineering and design approaches that could be used to prevent these accidents, and especially to prevent them to children.

We wish young Aiden McKitrick the best recovery possible, and hope his injuries will motivate the industry and others to take the steps necessary to prevent other young boys and girls from falling overboard and being struck by pontoon boat propellers.