Media coverage of 2008 recreational boat propeller accidents.

If you are aware of coverage of a 2008 propeller accident that is not reported here, please contact us.

Fatal accidents are coded immediately in front of the reporting data as:
D indicates the first coverage on this page of a U.S. fatality occurring this year
D indicates a fatality outside the U.S.

• D 31 Dec 2008 Accident Date – 3 Jan 2009 Newsday.com “Long Island Vineyard Owner Christian Wolffer Dies” reports Christian Wolffer, age 70, was on vacation in Brazil on New Years Eve (Dec 31) and swimming in Paraty near Rio de Janerio at Saco de Mamangua Beach when he was struck by one or more propellers of a boat and received two diagonal wounds on his back. Motor boats are prohibited within 650 feet of shore. Mr. Wolffer was taken to Hospital Santa Casa de Misericordia and pronounced dead. An autopsy reported death due to acute anemia caused by internal hemorrhage.
• 28 December 2008 Accident Date (Australia) – 10 September 2009 Herald Sun (Australia) “Woman Leg Slice in Boat Propeller, Skipper in Court” reports Leanne Ross was returning from snorkeling to the Oceanic Express near Pope’s Eye (about 5 kilometers northeast of Portsea) on December 28, 2008. She was putting her foot on the steps when the propeller started and “my legs got sucked into the propeller.” She was taken to Geeong Hospital and is currently testifying in Geelong Magistrates Court surrounding the accident and the potential liability of the skipper and others.
• NOT PROP FATALITY Miami Herald (FL) “Husband Held in Death of Wife Found Floating in St. Augustine Inlet”reports Melissa Lightsey was said by her husband to have gone for a midnight swim on November 8th in frigid water (air temp below 50 degrees). Friends suggest she and her husband argued earlier. Her body was found the next afternoon by a boater. “Though her body had been cut by a boat propeller, Medical Examiner Dr. Terrance Steiner ruled the death a homicide — “trauma to the head, face, and neck.””
  On 11 February 2009 Jacksonville.com reported her husband pleaded guilty to beating and strangling her. It was not a propeller injury.
• 17 Nov 2008 Deeper Blue (diving site) “Close Call for Renowned Underwater Photographer Fred Buyle” reports the Mr. Buyle was still on the surface after some scuba divers had began their dive while filming a documentary in Tahiti. The site was marked as a 50 meter wide diving zone, but a boat came through at about 20 knots. The boat came across him, cut a 40 cm wound in his back, shredded his fins, the prop busted his camera case and pulled his right arm in. He surfaced with an open fracture of his elbow and yelled at the departing boat. Its passengers looked back, but the boat continued on. Being in a very remote area, the dive boat retrieved him, took him back to their base camp, then he took a two hour ride on a 7 meter RIB to the nearest dispensary and the atoll airport. From there he was air lifted to Papeete and taken to Mamo General Hospital. Mr. Buyle credits keeping his wetsuit on with possibly saving his life. “The pressure of the wetsuit kept the wounds closed, prevented excessive bleeding and kept the bones from moving.
• 1 Nov 2008 Doctors Without Borders (from Yemen) “Thirty-Nine Dead Refugees Found on Yemen Coast” reports bodies of 39 refugees were found onshore in South Yemen between Friday and Saturday (Oct 31 – Nov 1). Smugglers forced them from boats into the ocean in deep water when they noticed lights on land. “An eight-months pregnant woman was severely wounded by the boat’s propeller after being forced overboard. She suffered four fractures in her leg and was in a critical condition when the MSF team found her.
• D? 16 Oct 2008 King5.com (Seattle) “Boating Accident Victim Faces Uncertain Future” reports< on the recovery of Michelle Saye from a 29 September propeller accident on Lake Tapps. She and several others were on a boat that was ran over by another boat in the darkness. The bow of the other boat hit her head, the propeller came through and her leg was nearly cut off. Doctors gave her the choice of amputation or a very lengthy and difficult option with the possibility of saving her leg. She chose to try to save her leg. A website, michellesaye.tumblr.com has been setup to track her progress. Her friend, Ron Scott (age 49) was killed in the accident The reports do not indicate if he was struck by a propeller or not.
  A 30 Sept News Tribune report says she was in a 18 foot Bayliner that was overtaken from behind by a 21 foot Supra about 10:30pm. The crash happened between Interlake and Inlet Islands.
  Other reports indicate many of the injured had propeller cuts (perhaps as many as eight people including the fatality).
• 13 Oct 2008 Accident Date – 9 October 2009 Miami Herald (Florida) “Biscayne Bay Boat Patrols Out in Force Columbus Day Weekend” reports officials are gearing up for the annual Columbus Day Weekend and the associated Columbus Day Regatta sailboat race. Last year “one woman was struck by a boat propeller, but there were no deaths.”
• D 8 Oct 2008 Cyprus Mail (Cyprus) “Diving Tragedy Leaves UN Soldier Dead” reports Alexander Simkovic, a 30 year old male from Slovakia, was snorkeling with another soldier. They were not using a float to alert boats to their presence. The accident happened near Konnos Bay Beach. A boat reportedly only saw one of the two men and ran over the other. Mr. Simkovic’s “arm was severed at the shoulder and he died while being carried to the beach.” The report also indicates another 21 year old diver was killed off Paphos in July when he was struck in the head by a speedboat propeller.
• 29 Sep 2008 NelsonMail.co.nz (New Zealand) “Man’s Fall on Takaka Hill Prompts Investigation” includes a report of a 37 year old woman on Torrent Bay falling onto a boat propeller Sunday evening 28 Sept. She was flown to a hospital.
• 29 Sep 2008 Andulusia Star-News “Boy Hurt in Boating Mishap” reports a 13 year old male fell from a boat in Florala State Park in Alabama. He was on Lake Jackson on Saturday 27 September about 4pm. When he fell in, he was hit by the propeller. “It cut one of his feet badly.” The boy from Opp was taken to Florala Memorial Hospital, then life flighted to Flowers Hospital in Dothan. The accident was worked by the state park.
• Possible Accident – 21 September 2008 NJ.com (New Jersey) “Warren County Man Injured in Budd Lake Boating Accident” reports a 52 year old male at Docks Marina on Budd Lake was repairing the propeller of his 20 foot boat while it was still on the trailer behind his truck when a 22 foot boat being moved with a forklift “rammed into him” and he was pinned between the two boats. He was taken to Morristown Memorial Hospital. The report does NOT specifically mention he was struck by the propeller of his boat.
• 17 September 2008 WCF Courier (Waterloo IA) “Boating Accident Injures Oelwein Woman” reports E. Shields, a 68 year old lady from Oelwein was boating with her husband on Tuesday 16 Sept. on the Mississippi River. The boat struck a submerged object, her husband lost his grip on the tiller steered outboard, the boat began to spin, and she was ejected. The boat ran over her “cutting her with the prop.” She was taken to Prairie du Chien Memorial Hospital, then life flighted to Gunderson Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse WI. She was struck about 2:15 pm in the McDonald Slough near Harpers Ferry.
• 14 September 2008 News Leader (Springfield MO) “St. Joseph Man Injured by Boat Propeller, Water Patrol Says” reports J. Herring, 37 year old male from Morgan Country, was on Lake of the Ozarks on Saturday night 13 September about 8pm. While putting on a boat cover, he fell overboard, “cutting his right arm with the boat’s propeller”. He was taken to Lake Regional Hospital, and will be transferred to Columbia Regional Hospital for surgery on his arm.
  KRMS reports Mr. Herring fell from a 32 foot Chris Craft near the 5 mile marker of the Gravois Arm in Morgan County.
• 10 September 2008 The Advocate (Stamford CT) “Flood Washes Away Homeless Man” reports from Norwalk CT of John Fink who is thought to have been washed away Saturday 6 Sept in a rainstorm from his camp under the Cross Street Bridge. His body was found about 4 miles downstream 8:15 Sunday morning off Chimon Island, just outside Norwalk Harbor. Injuries on his body are said to be consistent “with a boat prop injury occurring after death.”
• 3 September 2008 KAKE10 (Wichita KS) “Student Hailed for Rescuing Man From Drowning” reports an exchange student from Germany and part of his host family were boating on Marion Reservoir on Sunday 31 August. The boat became caught in some rocks, Joe Willems, brother in law of the student’s host father, was at the stern. The engine was started and when it went into gear, Mr. Willems fell over and was in front of the propeller. The prop caught his shirt and began winding him in. The student grabbed his hand so he could breathe, then jumped in, pushed him up so he could breathe, and ripped his shirt from the prop while it was still turning. Mr. Willems had ripped skin on his chest, his arm was torn to the bone, and a nearly severed thumb. Max Wagner, the exchange student, is being called an international hero. Their coverage includes a nice video interview of Joe Willems and Max Wagner.
• 30 August 2008 WLWT (Cincinnati OH) “Woman’s Leg Partially Cut Off After Being Thrown From Boat” reports a 31 year old woman was riding in a boat on Caesar Creek in Warren County this afternoon (Saturday 30 August) when she was thrown from the boat and hit by its propeller. She “suffered deep lacerations to her right leg and hip.” She was life flighted to Miami Valley Hospital.
  Other reports indicate the boat was pulling a tuber when she was ejected. One report (kypost) indicates she was actually struck when the boat came back around to get her after she was ejected.
• Commercial Accident – 29 Aug 2008 The Straights Times (Singapore) “3 Divers Hurt By Moving Ship Propeller; Singaporian in Critical Condition” reports from Singapore that three divers were cleaning a propeller (about 7 meters in diameter) of an oil tanker (the Shetland Spirit) when it began to rotate. One 44 year old male is now in critical condition at Singapore General Hospital. The other two were minorly injured. The article also mentions a June 2008 accident in which a diver in the United Arab Emirates was killed while checking a ship propeller.

Friday 29 August thru Monday 1 September 2008 = Labor Day Weekend

• 26 August 2008 Dive Magazine “Farnes Diver Suffers Head Injuries” reports from the UK, a group charter diver on the Sovereign III was off the Farne Islands in Northumberland on Saturday 23 August. The man, probably in his later thirties, is thought to have collided with the stationary propeller of the dive boat when he surfaced. He received “deep lacerations to his head and cuts to his hands.” The man was taken to Seahouses and life flighted to Wansbeck Hospital. Another vessel from this charter, the Sovereign II, was involved in a high profile diver propeller accident in 2005.
• D 22 Aug 2008 The Wetumpka Herald (Alabama) “Witnesses Needed to Fatal Crash” reports near midnight 9 August on Lake Martin a Legacy runabout went through some people swimming near a pontoon boat, then crashed into the pontoon boat. “The Legacy runabout’s impact and slicing propeller are believed to have killed 62 year old Donny Tatum and critically injured his sister-in-law, Sue Tatum.” The accident occurred near Old Harmony Slough and Real Island Marina. Ambulances picked up the injured at Sinclair’s Kowaliga restaurant. Mr. Tatum was from Prattville. Marine Police are asking anyone with information about the crash to call (800) 439-7389.
• 20 Aug 2008 Canada.com Delta Optimist “Local Man Injured in Boat Accident” (South Delta / Tsawwassen BC Canada)reports an 8 to 9 foot skiff was observed circling with no operator and a dog onboard at Ladner Harbour on Sunday 17 August. A nearby docked sailboater and another local resident who heard the circling boat from his nearby home worked together from the local resident’s powerboat to pull the boat operator from the water. He had fallen in and been struck in the arm by the propeller of the boat. The injured man was taken to Delta Hospital.
• D 19 Aug 2008 Europress (Spain) “Hospitalized for Severe Hypothermia and Propeller Wounds Two Algerians Arrived in Small Boats to Nijar (Almeria)” reports in Spanish of two Algerian males landing a small boat at Cala Barronal (part of the nature preserve at Cabo de Gata-Nijar (Almeria). Onboard were two women plus two youth. One of the two males required CPR, while the other required several tourniquets to stop bleeding from a propeller wound.
  A 19 August report in elcorreodigital says the young man (the one the earlier report was talking about needing CPR) was 26 years old, the accident happened about 2pm and that he was declared dead almost instantly due to the severity of his injuries. He was not wearing a lanyard.
  A big thanks to one of our readers in Spain for pointing out this accident to us.
• 19 Aug 2008 Star News Online (Wilmington North Carolina) “Man Who Loved Outdoors Dies in Boating Accident” reports Kenny Whitman, age 48 from Kings Mountain NC, was boating in the Intercoastal Waterway about 4 pm Saturday 16 August. He was going from Masonboro Island to Carolina Beach with some family members and a friend when the boat struck a piling. Mr. Whitman was ejected and struck by the propeller on the left side of his body. He was given CPR by the USCG and then pronounced dead.
• 18 Aug 2008 Pembinavalley Online (Canada) “Busy Night for Local R.C.M.P.” reports a boating accident Sunday 17 August at Stephenfield Provincial Park. “A 40 year old Carman man was struck on the foot by a boat propeller.”
• August 2008 Accident Date – 5 May 2009 The Courrier (Montgomery County Texas) “Memorial Day Weekend to Bring No Refusal For BWIs” discusses preparations at Lake Conroe and reviews some major accidents from the past, including, “A 26-year-old Willis man was critically injured last August when a speedboat smashed into a pontoon boat he was operating. The man’s abdomen was sliced open by the speedboat’s propeller, but he recovered.”
• 10 Aug 2008 News-Leader (Springfield Missouri) “Warsaw Man Struck by Boat’s Propeller on Truman Lake” reports T. Dryer, 40 year old male from Drexel, was acting as spotter for a kneeboarder being pulled behind a boat on Saturday 9 August about 6:30pm in Warsaw near the ten mile marker on the Pomme arm of Lake Truman. The wakeboarder fell, the boat operator made a hard left, Mr. Dryer was ejected and struck by the boat’s propeller. He was taken to Bothwell Hospital in Sedalia, then on to Columbia hospital.
  The accident is also reported in news release number N07080166 by the Missouri State Water Patrol. The boat is identified as 2007 Triton Bassboat.
• 8 Aug 2008 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Pennsylvania) “Friends Come to the Aid of Gilpin Boating Accident Victim” reports E. Hack, 37 year old male from Gilpin, was in a boat with a friend on the Allegheny River near where it joins the Kiski River (an area known for rough water) about 8pm Sunday 3 August. The boat operator lost control, Mr. Hack was ejected and hit by the propeller. His injuries included “severing a main artery in his right arm, shattering his elbow and breaking several bones.” He was taken to UMPC Presbyterian in Pittsburgh.
• D 8 August 2008 Accident Date – 30 Sept 2008 Summit Daily News (Frisco Colorado) “Boating Case Goes to District Court” reports Adam Brown was on a boat doing donuts in Dillon Reservoir on August 6th. He fell overboard and his body was found three days later. An autopsy revealed he “died from a combination of drowning and sever head injuries from the boat’s propeller.” A preliminary hearing in Summit County found sufficient evidence to try the boat operator for vehicular homicide in District Court.
• 5 Aug 2008 Orlano Sentinel (FL) “Teenage Boy Hospitalized in Boating Accident” reports a 15 year old boy was in a boat with about 5 other people this afternoon according to Maitland Police Dept. He fell from the 2004 Correct Craft ski boat and his leg was injured by its propeller. The young man was life flighted to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
• Possible Prop Accident – 4 Aug 2008 Newsday (New York) “Man Seriously Hurt in Boating Accident” reports a man was hit by a boat in Zach’s Bay at Jones Beach State Park in Nassau County about 6:50pm Sunday 3 August. He suffered head injuries. Some news reports said he had propeller injuries but police did not confirm that. The man was life flighted to Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow.
• 1 Aug 2008 Redding Record Searchlight (Redding California) “North State Briefs: Boat’s Propeller Injures Man at Lake” reports a man in his late twenties was sitting on the bow of a boat on Whiskeytown Lake about 6:50pm Thursday 31 July. Four to six others were onboard. The man was “thrown overboard”? and struck by the propeller. He was taken to Oak Bottom Marina, then to Mercy Medical Center in Redding with severe chest injuries.
  A later RRRS report of same date identifies the injured gentleman as C. Meadows of French Gulch.
• 31 July 2008 Accident Date – On 5 Sept 2008 one of our readers reported a male extended family member was struck by two boat propellers on 31 July and is currently still in the Santa Rosa California Hospital. They were unsure exactly where the accident occured, but thought it might have happened on the Delta.
• 30 July 2008 WPTV (West Palm Beach FL) “Person Hit by Boat Near Peanut Island” reports a man appears to have been cleaning his boat while it was anchored near Peanut Island on Tuesday afternoon 29 July. Current may have carried him under his boat to the propeller where he was severly injured. The man was taken to St. Mary’s Medical Center.
  The Sun-Sentinel reported the man was struck in the leg and originally taken by the Coast Guard to Riviera Beach Marina.
• D 29 July 2008 Star-Telegram (Fort Worth TX) “Boating Injury Kills Grand Prairie Man” reports Johnny Brown, age 25 of Grand Prairie, was standing in the bow of a boat on Joe Pool Lake near Lynn Creek Marina. Another boat cut across the path of the boat he was standing in. The operator of the boat he was standing in quickly slowed the boat to avoid colliding with the second boat. When the boat decelerated, Johnny Brown fell overboard and was struck in the head by the propeller “causing a pretty massive head injury.” The emergency call went in about 11:08 pm. Johnny Brown was taken to Medical Center of Arlington, then life flighted to John Peter Smith Hospital where he died about 8pm Monday July 28th.
• D 28 Jul 2008 The Jerusalem Post “Jewish Agency Envoy Killed in Florida Boating Accident” reports Michal Elboim, a 24 year old female Jewish Agency emissary to the Pensacola Jewish community, was boating in Perdidio Bay (an area that divides northern Florida from Alabama) on Sunday 27 July. The boat she was in “jerked suddenly”, she was ejected and her head hit the propeller as she fell in. Her body will be returned to Israel for burial.
  Haaretz.com reports the boat operator had been teaching another person on the boat how to use the steering wheel, when the boat jerked. First aid and resuscitation efforts failed, a life flight helicopter was called, but she
  was pronounced dead at the boat. A total of ten people were on the boat at the time of the accident.
  Pensacola News Journal reports she was sitting on the bow of a 24 foot pontoon boat. The accident happened a little before 3:30 pm, south of Lillian Bridge at Innerarity Point. Four of those on board were military personnel.
• D 27 July 2008 Accident Date – “Report of Investigation into the Fatal Accident Caused by Turning Propeller of a Local Pleasure Vessel Crescent Island at Port Island on 27 July 2008”. Marine Accident Investigation and Shipping Security Policy Branch (MAISSPB) of Marine Department Hong Kong reports on a diving fatality involving a female diver on a diving tour boat called the Crescent Island that occurred 27 July 2008.
• Possible Accident – 25 June 2008 NewsNet5 (Cleveland OH) “Questions Arise Over Firefighters Disappearance From Boat” reports Kenneth “Mike” Alderman was on Lake Erie boating with friends off Sandusky on Saturday night July 19th. Some said he jumped in to help his fiance out of the water, later some said he might have been struck by the boat. Mr. Alderman was a Cleveland fireman. Some are now wondering if he was struck by the propeller. Searchers are still looking for him.
  NewsNet5 reported on Monday 28 July 2008 that his body was found about 10am this morning about five miles offshore and taken to a county corners office.
• D 21 July 2008 San Francisco Chronicle “Jet Skier Died After Being Hit by Boat Propeller” reports Jill Hullen, a 47 year old woman from Discovery Bay, was on a PWC with her 14 year old son near the entrance to Discovery Bay at Indian Slough about 4:00pm Saturday 19 July. The PWC and a ski boat collided, A sheriff’s marine patrol vessel passed by shortly after the collision and found her son in the water. Jill Hullen was hit by the ski boat’s propeller and her body was discovered about three hours later by a dive team and search unit. Her son was lifeflighted to Children’s Hospital Oakland for injuries he suffered in the collision.
• 21 July 2008 WFTV (Central FL) “Airboat Collision Sends Victim Flying Into Propeller” reports from West Melbourne FL that two airboats, one belonging to St. John’s River Water Management District, collided this afternoon 21 July near West Melbourne. The collision threw at least one person into a propeller. One person was lifeflighted to an area hospital.
• 20 July Accident Date – 7 Sept 2008 Commercial Appeal Memphis Online “After Boating Accident, Atoka Man Focuses on His Recovery” reports on Sunday 20 July, 24 year old Dustin Maxwell was on a 70 horsepower bass boat checking trot lines on the Hatchie River in Tipton County. The boat hit a sandbar, he was ejected over the bow, and “his arms shredded by a boat propeller”. His friends got him to the bank, in about 40 minutes he could hear the ambulance sirens. The ambulance took him to a field where he was life flighted to Regional Medical Center in Memphis. Dustin was uninsured and also faces the very expensive costs of a prostheses ($40 to $55K) as he has lost both of his arms near the elbow. Friends and family are throwing events to raise money.
• D 20 July 2008 Press Republican (Northeastern NY) “Fifteen-Year Old Boy Killed in Boating Accident” reports from Ticonderoga that Daniel K. Nadeau, age 15 of Mansfield Connecticut, was riding in the bow of a 20 foot fishing boat. He and another man were competing in the CT Outdoors fishing tournament on Lake Champlain about 6pm Saturday 18 July. They were out in the lake near the Town of Crown Point. The boat hit choppy water, he fell in, and was “hit on the head by the propeller.” His mother and a brother were also passengers on the boat. His mother was actually the director of the fishing tournament. She is also a paramedic. Daniel Nadeau was taken to the New York State Boat Launch by the Fort Ticonderoga ferry dock and pronounced dead by a county coroner.
• 20 July 2008 Kansas City Star “Sugar Creek Man Hurt in Boating Accident” reports B. Tharp, 36 year old male from Sugar Creek, jumped from a boat that was towing a tuber Saturday 19 July on Blue Springs Lake. The boat operator shut down the boat, it struck him, and “he sustained a propeller cut to his left thigh.”
• 20 July 2008 The Capital (Annapolis MD) Arundel Digest “Man Hospitalized After Boating Accident” reports firefighters responded to a 8:17 pm call yesterday 19 July involving a 45 year old man who had “injured his foot on a boat propeller” near Dobbins Island. Firefighters responded to the Magothy Road boat ramp and took him to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
• 19 July 2008 Democrat an Chronicle (Rochester NY) “More News Briefs” reports and 18 year old male was hanging on to a boat swim platform about 4:15 Friday 18 July. The operator of the boat was having trouble starting the boat, when it did start, the young man’s feet “slipped under the boat, and his ankle hit the propeller.” He was taken to Rochester General Hospital.
• 17 July 2008 News10 ABC (Sacramento CA) “Girl’s Legs Nearly Severed in Boating Mishap” reports Consuelo Garcia, an eight year old girl from Elk Grove, was preparing to be pulled on a tube behind a boat driven by her father on the Sacramento River near Garcia Bend in the Pocket area on the afternoon of July 6th. She was near the beach, about 20 feet behind her father’s boat when another boat sped by. Its wake pushed her up into the propeller of her father’s boat. The propeller went across her knees. “The right leg was severed. And the left leg was destroyed. She had to get a new knee, femur, femur fracture, plates, screws.” A Sacramento law enforcement professional said, “It was gorier than anything I’ve seen in my law enforcement profession.” The second boat, thought to be a Bayliner ski model with 6 to 8 people on board, was doing about 35 mph in a 5 mph zone and did not stop. Consuelo was taken to UCD/ UC Med Center.
• 17 July 2008 The Tunica Times (Tunica MS) “Young Man Recovering After Boating Accident” reports J. James, fell from a pontoon boat on Cut-Off Lake (near Tunica) as some local youth were headed to shore Saturday July 12 after a day on the lake. He suffered “nine lacerations to the leg and foot and his body passed underneath the vessel and made contact with the propeller” and was taken to Baptist DeSoto Hospital. Several scouts on board rapidly responded to his injuries with first aid and called 911. James has since been moved to The Med in Memphis for surgery on his foot. He already received nearly 100 stitches.
• D 15 July 2008 The Olympian (Olympia WA) “WA Boy Dies in Idaho Boating Accident” reports a 13 year old boy was in the water on Lake Coeur d’Alene near a 21 foot boat operated by a family member Tuesday 15 July. The boy approached the boat because he wanted to change life jackets. Those in the boat thought it was in neutral, but the boy was struck by the propeller, lifeflighted to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane WA, and declared dead.
  The boy was later identified as Trenton Newlon.
• D 14 Jul 2008 Famagusta Gazette (Republic of Cyprus) “British Man Held in Connection With Diver Death off Cyprus Coast” reports Neophyotou Theophanous, a 21 year old male, was diving about 500 meters off the shore of Paphos. He was killed when a boat propeller struck him in the head. The boat left the scene, police have detained a suspect who denies knowing anything about the accident.
• 14 July 2008 Sunday Mercury (UK) “Propeller Injures Staffordshire Man in Canal Boat Accident” reports a 40 year old man cut his leg on a canal boat propeller of Long Street, Wheaton Aston. It is thought that he fell into the canal. The man was lifeflighted to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
  A report in Birmingham Mail indicates the accident took place about 5:25pm on Sunday 13 July.
• 13 July 2008 WPTV5 (West Palm Beach FL) “Woman Injured by Boat Propeller” reports a a 46 year old woman was taking a boat ride in the Atlantic off Highland Beach about 1:30 pm Sunday 13 July. She was struck by the propeller and “suffered cuts to her thigh and buttocks.” Paramedics reached her quickly as the accident happened near a Highland Beach fire station on South Ocean Avenue.
  A Palm Beach Post report indicates she was taken to Delray Medical Center. It was unclear if she fell in or was already in the water. A paramedic chief said there was some indication she had jumped in.
• 7 July 2008 The Oregonian (OregonLive.com) “Two Surfers Recount Dory Collision That Severed Arm of Teen” reports C. Ortega, 14 year old male from Bend, was was surfing at Pacific City on Sunday morning July 6th. As the waves started to increase the surfers went out, then many dories began to launch, as the waves continued to increase more surfers came and the dories began to return to shore. During the congestion, Ortega’s arm was severed when a dory collided with three surfers. Propellers are NOT mentioned as the cause, but the report does mention one other surfer being very scared as he had felt a propeller pass over his legs.
  Several later reports are indicating it was a propeller accident. The Oregonian of 7 July actually has several photos taken by a surfer photographer just a few seconds after the accident. The boat’s wake is still clearly visible around Ortega.
• 7 July 2008 Dayton Daily News (Ohio) “Woman’s Legs Lacerated by Boat Propeller” reports from Wayne Township in Warren County that T. L. Mackey, age 39 of Trenton, was at Caesar Creek State Park on Sunday June 6th. About 6:15pm she fell from an inner tube at the north end of the lake. The lake was choppy and she began to panic. When the boat came around to pick her up, she reached it before the engine was stopped and became “ensnarled in the propeller.” Both her legs were severely injured. She was lifeflighted to Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton.
• 5 July 2008 Star News Online (Wilmington North Carolina) “Carolina Beach Lifeguard Who Was Hit by Boat Has Leg Surgery” reports Daniel Anderson, 54 year old male, was conducting a rescue as a member of the Carolina Beach Ocean Rescue Team on Friday July 4th in Carolina Beach Inlet. Anderson was helping a stranded jet skier when he was hit, “likely by the prop” of a boat with a 25 to 30 foot cabin. At the time he was hit, Anderson had a bright orange rescue buoy with him and was clearly visible. The Director of the rescue team said he had never seen a lifeguard injured this severely. Tendons were reattached in his leg at New Hanover Regional Medical Center.
• 5 July 2008 The Gazette / Montreal Gazette (Canada) “Surfer Hit by Prop” reports a 39 year old man was wave surfing behind a boat (pulled up to speed by a rope, the lets go to ride the waves) on Rivière des Prairies near Promenade Patton. He fell, the boat operator went around to retrieve him, and he was struck by the propeller.
  A 25 March 2013 Sun News story identified the man as Gill Ben-Or and reviewed his recovery after 11 days in a coma, 23 surgeries, and 18 months in rehab. He now celebrates every day of his life as a car dealer after loosing his job, house, and most of his friends.
• 3 July WNYT13 (New York) “Boy Injured in Boat Propeller Accident”reports from Lake George that J.P. Wallace, a 10 year old boy from New Jersey, and his sister were in the water getting ready to water ski behind a Starcraft boat operated by their father on 3 July. The boat made a right hand turn to drop off the ski ropes and the boy was struck in the right leg by the propeller. He was taken to Dockside Marina in Hague, then to a local hospital, then lifeflighted to Fletcher Allen Medical Center in Burlington Vermont.
  INTERESTING FOOTNOTE- 3 December 2009 article in the Glen Falls New York Post Star “Community Leader Killed in Hit-Run While Jogging” reports a gentleman (Anthony “A.T.” Morette) who was very instrumental in the rescue of this boy was himself ran over and killed by a truck.
  2018 UPDATE – February 2018 news reports indicate this young boy who lost his leg has become 20 year old Jack Wallace, a sophomore studying biomedical engineering, will be competing in the 2018 Paralympics as part of the USA sled hockey team.
• D 3 July 2008 Accident Date – 29 Sept 2009 Boston Globe “Questions Linger After DA Explains a Life Lost at Sea” reports DA Michael O’Keefe has made a final report on the July 3rd, 2008 loss of Anthony U. Tufo overboard in Boston Harbor from a vessel with several people onboard with ties to area police departments. He was said to have been putting protective fenders on the port side of the boat when he was last seen. No one saw him go into the water. His body was found 9 days later. He struck the propeller and “died of massive injuries.” Many question how none of the other seven onboard saw him go over.
• 2 July 2008 Guleph Mercury (Guleph Ontario Canada) “Teens Fall From Boat and Get Run Over in Conestogo Lake”reports M. Brethour, 16 year old young man from Kitchener, and N. Morrison, 14 year old young man from Barrie, were riding on the bow of a boat about 6pm Saturday 28 June on Conestogo Lake while it was pulling some tubers. They fell from the boat when it turned (both were wearing life jackets) and both were struck by the propeller. M. Brethour was life flighted to Hamilton General Hospital with an injured right arm. N. Morrison was taken to Listowel Hospital, then life flighted to London Health Sciences Center with an injured right leg.
• 2 July 2008 Wetzel Chronicle (New Martinsville WV) “Man Hurt in Jet-Ski Accident” reports J. Bates, a 19 year old young man from Paden CIty, was involved with a PWC near Paden City Marina about 8:30pm Tuesday June 24th. “Somehow” the young man came in contact with the propeller of a nearby pontoon boat underway on the river. He was lifeflighted to Ruby Memorial Hospital. Bates is thought to have suffered a broken leg, and lacerations on his head, elbow and arms.
• 2 July 2008 StJoeNews (MO) “Man Injured in Boating Accident” reports T.E. Dewey, a 30 year old man from Faucett Missouri was in a Marada boat about 4 pm Tuesday 1 July on Smithville Lake near the Crows Creek arm. He put the boat in neutral, entered the water, went to the rear of the boat, his clothes “became entangled with the prop blades.” He was taken to Liberty Hospital with serious injuries.
• 1 July 2008 Myrtle Beach Online (SC) Police Reports from Longs reports that last week, a twenty year old man from Myrtle Beach was in his boat near 46th Avenue of Cherry Grove when he saw a man he thought was trying to steal his crab pots. He struck the man with his boat and his boat’s propeller. The boat operator was given a six years suspended sentence after he serves four years probation.
• 30 June 2008 The Courier-Mail (Australia) “Diver Hit by No-Stop Boat” reports a 65 year old male from Brookfield was swimming in a black wetsuit about 12:15pm 29 June off the northern end of Moreton Island. He was hit by a fiberglass boat going about 25 kilometers per hour. The boat reportedly stopped later at the Volunteer Marine Rescue Office at Bribie Island with three on board.
  This same accident appears to be referenced in the 2010 article below. Please note the January 2010 article seems to error in dating it as last year (June 2009) vs June 2008.
  June 2008 Accident Date – 10 January 2010 CourierMail.com.au (Australia) “Deaths Spark Spear-Fishing Safety Push” reports on several diving accidents including the prop strike of a male diver from the Sunshine Coast last June (probably really June 2008) at Flinders Reef “breaking his femur, tibia, fibula, and ribs, puncturing his left lung, and rupturing his spleen, kidney and bowel.” He was put into a coma for two weeks and suffered a stroke.
• D 29 Jun 2008 WTMJ Newsradio (Milwakee WI) “Woman Dead After Being Struck by Boat” reports a 28 year old woman from Florida was wakeboarding in Lake Geneva on Saturday afternoon June 28. She fell from the board and was ran over by another boat before her boat could pick her back up. She was struck by the propeller of the other boat, taken to Lakeland Medical Center, and pronounced dead. Storms were producing large waves that may have made it difficult for the boat that hit her to see her in the water.
  Later reports identified the woman as Christina Ann Tully of Chicago, originally from Winter Garden FL.
• 29 June 2008 The News Tribune (Tacoma WA) “Seattle Woman Loses Leg in Dyes Inlet Boating Accident” reports from Tracyton in Kitsap Country that a Seattle woman, age 45, was climbing into a 20 foot Sea Ray boat on Saturday 28 June. The boat was in 2 or 3 feet of water, she slipped, her right leg hit the propeller and it was severed below the knee. She was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
  Other reports indicate the accident happened about 2:20pm and that she was first taken to Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton, then life flighted to Harborview. Her missing limb was recovered badly damaged and sent with her.
• 24 Jun 2008 MyFox Atlanta “Teen Hit by Boat on Lake Jackson Recalls Ordeal” reports Jimmy Barber, 16 year old male, was swimming on Lake Jackson on Friday night 20 June with his sister and friend. A boat came at them at about 30 mph. He tried to dive but his life jacket / pfd kept him afloat. He reports that if he had not had the life jacket on, he “might have been able to outswim the boat … wouldn’t have hit me.” He was struck by the propeller in his midsection and on his feet, received a fractured pelvic bone, broken hip, and hundreds of stitches. Doctors say he received a bacterial infection from the lake water and they will not be able to sew up his midsection wound which is 5 inches deep and goes all the way around per his mother. DNR is investigating the hit and run and requests assistance from the public in locating the driver or boat. Coverage includes some videos.
  PGIC comment – this is one of several accidents involving life jackets keeping people from diving or swimming to avoid being struck by a propeller. On the flip side, life jackets save thousands of lives and we strongly encourage wearing them. Additionally, they have provided some impact protection in a few propeller strikes. In general, this seems like another reason to put some interventions in place to prevent propeller injuries in the first place.
  Also a big thanks to one of our readers on Lake Jackson who viewed the accident response teams from a distance for pointing this accident out to us.
• 24 June 2008 WKYX (Paducah KY) “Boy Injured in Boating Accident” reports from Briensburg KY that on Monday night 23 June, a boy was on a pontoon boat on Kentucky Lake in Marshall County. The boy fell in and suffered head and leg injuries. Emergency workers said “the boy was apparently struck by the propeller.” He was lifeflighted to Vanderbilt University Medical Hospital in Nashville.
• 23 June 2008 WEAU13 (Eau Claire WI) “Man Injured in Boat Accident Says Investigator Who Saved Him is a Hero” reports Erik Affolter was fishing with his family on Lake Menomin on Saturday afternoon 21 June. A bolt on the back of the outboard motor sheared off and the “motor spun whatever way it wanted.” He was ejected and reports, “I was underneath and I saw the boat coming, the propeller and I put my hand up and it cut me and hit me in the head.” Those onboard were screaming for help, others ignored the screams, but an off-duty Saint Croix Country Investigator, Jim Mikla, responded. Mr. and Mrs. Affolter are very grateful for his assistance. The story includes a nice video interview with those involved.
• 23 June 2008 The Times Herald (Michigan) “Richmond Man Seriously Hurt in Boating Accident” reports N. Harrison, a 21 year old man from Richmond, was wading in Big Muscamoot Bay in Clay Township on Sunday 22 June about 5:30 pm. “A boat propeller hit his right thigh, cutting it severely”, and he lost a lot of blood. Mr. Harrison was taken to Harsens Island, then to St. John River District Hospital, then lifeflighted to a University of Michigan Health Systems Hospital in Ann Arbor.
• 23 June 2008 GazetteLive (UK) “Lives Could Have Been Lost Warns RNLI Chief After Rescue in Saltburn” reports a Royal National Lifeboat Institution chief reports a fishing competition was being held off Saltburn Beach near The Ship pub on Saturday 21 June. The competition was delayed due to high surf, finally started, and was later called off due to deteriorating weather. Two boats did not hear the warning to return, one capsized or nearly capsized throwing a man in his forties from Brotton into the water where he “received a severe head wound by his head striking the propeller.” He washed ashore and was lifeflighted to James Cook. Another boat in the competition also overturned washing four more fisherman ashore.
• D 22 Jun 2008 Herald-Zeitung (New Braunfels TX near San Antonio) “Man Struck by Boat, Dies at Canyon Lake” reports A man in his early twenties was being pulled on an inner tube behind a boat on Canyon Lake on Friday 20 June. It appears he fell from the tube, the operator returned to him, and “somehow ran over the victim who was struck by the propeller.” The man previously on the inner tube received serious injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
  A 21 June 2008 WOAI.com report indentifies the deceased gentleman as 21 year old Rene Jimenez. It reports the accident happend on the west side of the lake near Crane’s Mill Marina and says the boat was powered by an inboard-outboard.
• D 21 June 2008 Accident Date – Gravehurst Banner (Ontario Canada) “Guilty Plea in Boating Fatality” reports early on the evening of 21 June 2008 three men went for a boat ride on Lake Muskoka. Two of them were thrown from the boat, possibly while standing on the bow, only one surfaced. The body of Steven Hamel, age 24, was pulled from the water two days later. “… his injuries included a fractured skull and injuries consistent with damage that could have been inflicted by a boat propeller” per the coroner. After pleading guilty to impaired operation of a vessel causing death, the driver of the boat will be sentenced 6 March 2009.
• 18 June 2008 Commercial International Fatality – Gulf News “Scuba Diver Killed by Ship’s Propeller Blades in Sharjah” reports a scuba diver was working on a ship at Hamriya Port in Sarjah (Capital city of one of the emirates in United Arab Emirates, UAE, by the same name). An engineer, unaware the scuba diver was working near the propeller, started the engine, causing him to be caught between the blades. “Police were unable to find most of the body parts and gave up the search after three days.”
• 18 June 2008 The True Citizen (Waynesboro Georgia) “Boating Accident Leaves Man Severely Injured” reports C. Odom, 35 year old male, was a passenger in a boat on a shallow section of the Savannah River near Sylvania on Sunday 15 June. The boat struck bottom, he was ejected and struck by a boat propeller. Mr. Odom was life flighted to MCGHealth.
• D 17 Jun 2008 CBS4 (Miami Fl reporting accident in Cuba) “Report: Smuggling Incident Off Cuba Leaves 1 Dead” reportsreports of a “possible” collision between a speedboat smuggling people anda fishing boat off Cuba on Monday 16 June are reaching the mainland, but Cuban government sources are not confirming them. The speedboat is said to have been picking up passengers on a small island close to Isabela de Sagua on the northern coast of the province of Villa Clara. The smugglers spotted a patrol boat and in their haste to depart, struck the small fishing boat with passengers waiting to board the speedboat. Yudeiki Rozabal, a 19 year old girl, died after her arm was severed by the propeller. A funeral was held for her Tuesday. The smugglers escaped.
  The 18 Jun 2008 Sun Sentinel reports another person was also struck in the intestines by the propeller. It also says the speedboat purposefully rammed the fishing boat full of passengers to cause the patrol boat to stop and rescue them, vs. pursuing the speedboat.
• D 8 June 2008 Accident Date (Malta) – 27 October 2013 Times of Malta “Negligence Could Have Let to Migrant Tragedy in 2008” reports 17 immigrants were intercepted in an 8 June 2010 stop by the Italian Coast Guard. Some now say the immigrant’s boat capsized and about 10 more immigrants died that day, some of them from being “minced by the propeller.” This is an updated report on a prior listing we had here below:
• June 2008 Accident Date – 19 September 2009 Ennahar Online (Algeria) “15 Harraga Killed by an Italian Speedboat in June 2008” reports an Italian Coast Guard boat was trying to help several ilegal immigrants in a small boat in June 2008. The Coast Guard boat threw them a ladder too heavy for their boat and it capsized, killing several that could not swim. “Some immigrants have been killed by propeller of the boat.” (see more recent coverage above)
• 8 Jun 2008 Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC) “Police Probe Bruny is Boat Smash” reports an inflatable dinghy collided with a fiberglass runabout off Bruny Island south of Hobart on the night of June 7th. Two men were rescued by nearby boats and taken to Royal Hobart Hospital. One was treated for lacerations. A Sergeant said, “We believe that was caused possibly by the propeller of the run about.”
• D 8 June 2008 San Jose Mercury News (California) “California Woman Killed by Boat Propeller at Lake Mead” reports Lois Johnson, a 54 year old woman from California, was swimming behind a boat as it was backing up on the Arizona side of Lake Mead on Saturday (7 June). She was hit by the propeller. Rangers from Lake Mead met the boat on the way to shore and provided “advanced life support”. She died at a hospital.
  A June 8th report in Tri-State-Online (MohaveDailyNews.com) indicates the accident actually happened on Lake Mohave (part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area) near Gasoline Alley on the Arizona side of Lake Mohave. She was taken to Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in Bullhead City, then transferred to University Medical Center in Los Vegas where she died.
  Several other reports indicate one of her legs was severed and she was taken by boat to Katherine Landing.
• 2 June 2008 WMBB News 13 (Panama City FL) “Bay Co. Swimmer Injured in Jackson Co.”reports J. Bass, an 11 year old boy from Fountain, was floating on an inner tube in Compass Lake about 12:30 today (2 June) when a boat pulling a knee boarder struck him about 75 yards from shore near Ski In Lodge. His right let was severly injured. He was life flighted to Bay Medical Center in Panama City. Officials reported it has not yet been detemined if he was struck by the propeller or not.
• 31 May 2008 accident – 4 June 2008 AccessNorthernGeorgia “German Billionaire Killed in Boating Accident on Lake Rabun” reports Joachim Herz, age 66, was out for a swim in Lake Rabun on Saturday 31 May when a boat ran over him. Authorities are investigating the accident. Other reports indicate it was an 18.5 foot ski boat.
  No mention is made of Mr. Herz being struck by the propeller, but locals are telling us that was the cause of his death. If you see any media or other reports indicating so, please contact us.
• 28 May 2008 Seattle Post-Intelligence (Washington) “Spokane WA Woman’s Arm Severed by Boat Propeller” reports Alana. Kienel, (name and age 27 from kxly) was riding on the bow of a ski boat driven by her husband on Lake Newman today (28 May). They were going about 30 mph when her husband turned the boat sharply and she was ejected, “the boat propeller severed her left arm”, she was taken to a nearby hospital. The couple had just taken possession of the ski boat that afternoon. Her arm was severed below the elbow and emergency crews could not find it. The husband was arrested for investigation of assault by watercraft.
• 27 May 2008 The Town Talk (Central Louisiana) “Vernon Authorities Search for Boating Victim” reports Vernon Parish Sheriff’s Office was attempting to recover a body from a boating accident Sunday afternoon on Anacoco Lake. In a separate accident on Anacoco Lake near VFW Landing Road, “At least two people were cut with a propeller” about 4:40 pm Sunday 25 May.
  a KALB News 5 report of same date says Luther Beason Jr. was driving the boat, pulling a man on a tube, with a spotter in the boat as well. The boat went around a tight curve, Mr. Beason and the spotter were ejected, Mr. Beason drowned, the other two were struck by the propeller.
• 25 May 2008 The Northwestern (Oshkosh Wisconsin) “Oshkosh Man Injured in Boating Mishap” reports W. Kary, a 40 year old male from Oshkosh, was anchoring his boat on Lake Butte des Morts about 7:40pm Saturday, fell overboard, and “the boat prop cut his leg.” He then drove his boat to Rainbow Park in Oshkosh, and was transported to Theda Clark Regional Medical Center in Neenah.
• D 21 May 2008 St. Tammany News (Louisiana) “Body of Boating Victim Discovered” reports the body of Glen Ray Toney, age 24 of Lacombe, was found Tuesday 20 May in the West Pearl River. His body was found about one mile east of Lock 1 near Pearl River Navigational Canal near where he fell in from a bass boat on Sunday 18 May. A Sheriff’s Office spokesman said “he “suffered head, neck and arm trauma from the boat’s propeller.”
• 21 May 2008 Cyber Diver News Network (CDNN) “Boat Propeller Severely Injures Scuba Diver” reports from Hayman Island Australia that a 23 year old woman was scuba diving on a dive trip off Hayman Island about 11:15 am today when she was struck by a boat propeller. She was life flighted to Mackay Base Hospital with “severed lacerations to her leg.”
  A separate report from AdelaideNow says the woman was from Airlie Beach. It also says she was taken to Hayman Island Medical Center before she was life flighted to Mackay Base Hospital.
• 18 May 2008 WINK News.com (Ft. Myers FL) “Man Tossed Into Boat Propeller” reports a man was swimming by his boat near Fort Myers Beach this afternoon (Sunday 18 May). A large wave “threw him into the boat’s propeller”. He “suffered a four-inch gash near his kidneys” per the USCG and was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital.
• 16 May 2008 Tlllsonburg News (Ontario Canada) – Accident in Belize – “Town Rallies Behind Family of Injured Man” reports Denis Turcotte was snorkeling with two other divers in Belize in an area marked by a dive buoy on April 21st as part of his 60th birthday present to himself. Another dive boat came though the area bearing down on the three divers. Those in the water dove under to avoid being hit, Mr. Turcotte did not resurface. His son saw him in the water with blood around him, the twin engine boat had struck him in the head and in the leg just above the ankle. The other boat stopped to help with two medical people on board, they gave him CPR. It took an hour to get to a medical clinic, then another 45 minutes to get to a hospital, from which he was then life flighted to a major hospital in Belize City where he was operated on 6 hours after the accident for five hours. A couple days later he was air lifted to Miami, then about two weeks later he was air transferred back to Canada. His family hopes he will be home for Christmas.
• 16 May Cairns Post (Australia) “in brief: Leg Badly Cut” reports a 50 year old male was with some friends at Lakefield National Park northwest of Cooktown about 5 pm yesterday (15 May) and “suffered significant trauma to the knee area” when his leg was badly cut by a boat propeller. He was life flighted to Cairns Base Hospital.
• Update on 2007 Accident – 9 May 2008 Stuff (New Zealand) “Injured Sailor Optimistic About Turkey” reports Twelve year old Andrew McKenzie is back on the New Zealand sailing team after a severe propeller accident last year. He fell over the front of an inflatable boat and got his foot caught in the prop. His foot looked like “raw meat”. “The propeller had sliced it from one side to the other, severing tendons and breaking the five main bones leading to his toes.” He spent two weeks at Starship and Middlemore Hospitals, six weeks in a wheel chair, and six more weeks on crutches. Five operations later, he is going strong again and preparing for a three week trip to Turkey for the World Sailing Championships in July.
• 8 May 2008 Pine Island Eagle (Bokeelia FL reporting on a Coast Rica accident) “St. James City Resident Returns From Fishing Reality Show” reports Ashley Dohme of St. James City was one of twelve people competing in a fishing reality show, “The Catch/Costa Rica”, filmed in Coast Rica for 2.5 months. One day she caught a tuna, she got some blood on her and jumped in to wash off, when she remembered sharks could be in the area she scrambled back in. While doing that she cut her toe on the propeller. At first she did not think it was serious. It began to bleed a lot and the captain sent her for medical attention. She ended up going to the hospital for stitches.
• 7 May 2008 Gold Coast Sun (Australia) “Gashed Student Plucked from Water Teen Boat Terror” reports S. Jewell, 14 year old male from the Sovereign Islands, was a passenger on a Boston Whaler last weekend outside Runway Bay Marina. The boat swerved, he fell in, and his left leg was struck by the propeller. A friend pulled him into another boat, the teenagers called an ambulance, and he was taken to a hospital. He had his second surgery last week, and is expected to be in the hospital 3 more weeks. His leg is broken four places and he has a 7.5cm wide by 2.5 cm deep gash. Doctors say it could be three months before he can walk again.
• D? 6 May 2008 Orlando Sentinel (FL) “Woman Dies After Falling Into the Indian River” reports Margaret Donnelly, age 69, was with her husband in their 30 foot boat, the Dog Catcher at the marina at 1025 Rockledge Drive about 7pm Monday (5 May). Somehow she and her husband both fell overboard. He was rescued, taken to a hospital, and remains in critical condition. He body was found “moments later” much further down the river. Investigators say, ” We don’t know if she drowned, suffered blunt trauma, or was hit by the propeller.”
  Personal Note – I have been on the Indian River about a mile or so north of there at the public boat launching area near Kings Street. It is a very beautiful area.
• 5 May 2008 Naples News (FL) “Swimmers Foot Cut by Boat Propeller Near Marco Beach” reports D.N. Krammer, 23 year old male of East Naples, was swimming 20 to 200 off Tigertail Beach on Marco Island about 3:15 pm Sunday afternoon (4 May). A passing boat going about 15 knots to 15 mph saw two people swimming in front of his boat, turned, and heard a scream. The boat brought him onboard and took him to a local hospital with a propeller laceration on his left foot.
• 27 Apr 2008 ABC15 (KNXV-TV Phoenix) “Woman Critically Injured in Lake Pleasant Boating Accident” reports a 20 year old woman was floating on an inner tube Sunday (Apr 27) about 3pm (from other reports) on Lake Pleasant at Humbug Cove, a well known party spot. A boat (pontoon boat from other reports) backed over her with the prop striking her in the face and chest. She was life flighted to John C. Lincoln North Mountain Hospital with life threatening injuries. The news clip is accompanied by a video report on the accident. Early reports are the boater did not see her because she was low on the water behind the boat.
• 22 Apr 2008 News South Wales Government NSW Police Force (Australia) “Boy Injured in Boating Accident – Refuge Bay” reports A 14 year old boy from Northbridge, was in a 1.8 meter RIB with another young boy yesterday (21 April) at Refuge Bay in Kuring-Gai National Park. After collecting some crabs in the Mud Flats, about 3:30 pm they pushed the boat to deeper water to start it. When the engine started, the boat lurched forward, the 14 year old boy fell out and struck his face against the propeller. He “suffered deep lacerations to his face”. The other boy got him back in the boat, took him to his parents boat in deeper water, an ambulance met his parents boat at Palm Beach Ferry Wharf, and he was later life flighted to Royal North Shore Hospital.
• 20 Apr 2008 Muskogee Phoenix (Oklahoma) “Woman Injured When Sucked Into Boat Prop” reports D. Cosby, 45 year old female from Newkirk Oklahoma, was on a houseboat passenger on Lake Tenkiller about 4:30pm Saturday 19 April. The 1997 Lakeview houseboat was in Cherokee County, about .5 miles west of Snake Creek Marina and .5 miles north of Skunk Island. The boat had stopped while several of the twelve on board swam and went down the water slide. When the boat was started, two more people went down the slide. She was injured when “she was sucked into the prop” and taken to St. Francis Hospital in Tulsa with leg injuries.
  The 22 April 2008 Daily Talequah Press indicates she was was transported by a private boat to land, taken by Cherokee Nation EMS to Cookson, then life flighted to Tulsa.
• Update on 2007 Accident – 20 April 2008 Miami Herald “Gifted Teen’s Medical Bills a Burden” reports on the continuing recovery of Yanik Quesnel of Trinidad and Tabogo who recently turned 18. He and a girl were ran over near shore back on June 12th 2007 and struck by the propeller of a small boat. She was airlifted to Spain, he incurred a brain injury, is unable to walk and only has the use of one arm. Yanik has been being treated at Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital since September and will likely be there for some time. The International Kids Fund is trying to raise 60 thousand dollars toward his medical bills. He recently underwent a 40 thousand dollar operation to install a spinal device to release medicine to counter his severe leg spasms, and will need another 10 to 12 months of rehabilitation.
• 18 Apr 2008 Miami Herald (FL) “Man Nearly Severs Leg in Boat Accident” reports D. Morowitz, a 49 year old man from Rhode Island, was fishing in the Keys. He was in a 17 foot Boston Whaler with his 9 year old son and a friend about half a mile off the bay side of Long Key Bridge, near mile marker 66 of the Overseas Highway. About 4:30pm Thursday 17 April, he fell overboard while anchoring the boat. It circled around, and his left leg was struck by the propeller. Mr. Morowitz was life flighted to Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital where doctors are trying to save his leg.
• D 10 Apr 2008 The Star (South Yorkshire U.K.) “Tragic Delay Costs Holidaymaker’s Life” reports Karl Wood, age 40 of Barnsley, was snorkeling on holiday, in Cyprus near a boat landing at Ladies Beach. He was ran over by a military patrol boat on routine patrol. The boat operator saw him at the last moment and swerved, “but the propeller sliced a deep wound into his leg.” The two men in the patrol boat pulled him aboard with help from a crew member of a nearby tourist boat. Once pulled aboard they saw the seriousness of his injuries and put out a Mayday call. When that was not answered, the two soldiers went to a landline phone and made a call a few minutes later. In the confusion, the soldiers took him by boat to a harbor two miles away while a helicopter was landing near where they called from. A helicopter and ambulance arrived and Mr. Wood was declared dead shortly later. An inquest is investigating the accident and the delay is getting aid to him. Exact date of the accident was not provided.
• D 6 April 2008 MyFox Tampa Bay (FL) “Boating Accident in Tarpon Springs” reports from Tarpon Springs that a lady, P. Blankenship, was in a boat on Lake Tarpon about 6pm Saturday night 5 April. One boat crashed into another boat that was anchored. She was thrown overboard. “The propeller hit her, nearly cutting off her arm.”
  A 6 April Tampa Tribune report on the same accident indicates she is 21, her left arm was the one nearly severed, and she was life flighted to Tampa General Hospital. She was on a 16 foot boat that went airborne when it hit an anchored 21 foot boat.
  10 February 2010 TampaBay.com/St. Petersburg Times reports the young woman, Patricia Blankenship, died 10 days after the accident.
• Update on 2007 Accident – 20 March 2008 Pioneer Press (Twin Cities MN) “Biggest Rebound for Minnesota Gopher’s Emily Fox Was From a Boating Accident” reports an update on Emily Fox now playing for the Gophers in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. In August 2007 she was on Boyd Lake, about an hour from her parents home in Highlands Ranch Colorado, with her family. She finished skiing, was climbing back in the boat and the current pushed her legs toward the propeller. “The spinning blades left two gaping cuts about five to six inches long near the calf of her right leg.” Her leg required 26 stitches. She has since recovered and helped her team make the tournament. They play Texas on Sunday.
• D? 17 March 2008 NOLA.com (New Orleans) “Bodies Believed to be Missing Teens Found, Another Fisher Drowned” reports George McClain 16, and Otis Thornton 18, were last seen boating on Lake Ponchartrain on the lake levee near Hayne Boulevard and Branch Drive in eastern New Orleans on March 9th. One body was found by fishermen on Sunday and another on Monday. The corners office is using dental records to identify the bodies. Their empty 16 foot aluminum flat bottomed boat was found March 10th. No mention is made of propeller injuries in these two young men. However, two more men, including Louis Nelson III, age 61, were fishing Sunday 16 March in the Industrial Canal and were thrown from the boat about 6pm. Mr. Nelson’s body was found about 2 hours later. An autopsy showed he drowned, even though he wore a “life preserver”. The Chief Coroner’s Investigator said “he might have been struck and knocked unconscious by the boat’s propeller.”
• D 14 March 2008 The Bahama Journal (Bahamas) “Tragedy Off Crooked Is.” reports Allison Deleveaux, a previous administrator of Crooked Island, and B. Ferguson were boating between Crooked Island and Long Cay. Their boat struck a reef. “Both of them were injured by the propeller because they were both thrown from the boat.” Mr. Deleveaux died from his injuries. Mr. Ferguson received serious injuries and is thought to be receiving medical attention on Crooked Island or in Nassau. The boat is said to have kept running after they were thrown out and “one of the men’s limbs were amputated.”
• D? Passenger Vessel – 11 March 2008 Daily Sun (Nigeria) “Ferryboat Accident Which Claimed 10 Lives Causes Uproad” reports a ferryboat from Yenagoa was headed to Famgbe when it was hit by a naval gunboat escorting a houseboat at higher speeds than appropriate speeds. The ferry had just exited Epie Creek and entered Yenagoa River, was hit from the front and sank. 16 passengers drowned. Some bodies are expected to float, but “It is unfortunate that those who suffer propeller cut around might never float.”
• 29 Feb 2008 News4Jax (Jacksonville Georgia News) “Man Charged With BUI After Boating Accident” reports C. Maynard was a passenger in a boat driven by another man on Burrell Creek, a tributary of St. Mary’s River, on February 17th. He was thrown from the boat and “came in contact with the boat’s propeller.” Mr. Maynard is still in critical condition in Shands-Jackson Medical Center.
• 16 Feb 2008 AFP (Canada) Police Baffled as Human Feet Wash Ashore in Canada reports the third severed foot in six months was found in the Gulf Islands in western Canada. Authorities speculate the first may have been from a propeller accident and are continuing to be puzzled by the more recent finds. The latest on washed up on the east side of Valdes Island on February 8th.
• 14 Feb 2008 Santa Maria Times (Santa Maria California) “Toddler Pinned Between Car, Boat Trailer” reports about 4 pm today a father was working on a car in the street. The car was turned off, but left in drive on the street. In front of the car was a boat loaded on a boat trailer with the propeller facing the car. When the father turned on the car’s ignition from under the hood, it lurched forward “and trapped the boy between the vehicle and the boat propeller.” The two year old boy had “a significant abrasion across his chest, and a laceration in the groin area.” They were waiting on x-rays to determine if he had other injuries.
• D? 14 Feb 2008 Houston Chronicle “Man Found in Lake Houston Had Tooth, Not Bullet in Throat” reports Israel Garcia, age 28, was on Lake Houston with two friends on 7 February after coming to shore earlier with a larger party due to rough waters. He stood up in the front of the boat and fell overboard. His body was recovered 13 February with a head wound and the crown from a tooth lodged in his throat. “Police say Garcia may have been struck by the boat’s propeller.”
• 14 Feb 2008 The Electric Newspaper (Singapore) “Teen Slashed by Speedboat Propellers” reports a propeller accident involving S. Jiaming , a 13 year old boy, swimming near a beach on Pangkor Island (just west of Malaysia) on Sunday February 10th about 5pm. The young boy lives on Pangkor Island and was at the beach with some family members. A speedboat taking a load of tourists on a cruise around the island thought not to have seen him, hit the boy and he was stuck by the propeller. S. Jiaming suffered “cuts to his face, legs, and left armpit and he almost lost his sight. He also had a broken bone in his left leg, and a 1ft-long gash across his chest.” A member of Parliament said an investigation would be carried out, and “that speedboat drivers will be warned about flouting safety rules, so as to prevent a repeat of the accident.” Thanks to one of our readers for pointing out this accident to us.
• 26 Jan 2008 NBC2 (Southwest Florida) “Man Jumps Off Boat, Struck by Propeller” reports Seven people were on a boat off the coast of Lover’s Key late today (Saturday 26 Jan) when a man jumped off, was runover by the boat, and struck by the propeller. “Coast Guard crews said the man suffered from severe injuries to his back and that the open wounds were so deep they could stick their hand inside the victims body.” He was life flighted to Lee Memorial Hospital.
• 19 Jan 2008 CBS4 (Miami-Fort Lauderdale FL) “Southwest Miami-Dade Diver Struck by Boat” reports a man was diving near Black Point Marina. He was hit by a propeller as he surfaced. He was life flighted to Jackon Memorial Hospital.
• 14 Jan 2008 Cowra Guardian (Australia) “Horrific Boating Accident at Dam” reports a 21 year old man was swimming near Wyangala Dam Saturday morning January 12th. He heard a boat coming and tried to dive underneath it, but “the boat’s propeller struck him, causing serious lacerations to his buttock and leg.” An ambulance service was called at 8:10 am and he was later life flighted to Westmead Hospital in Sydney.
• 2 Jan 2008 New Zealand Herald (New Zealand) “Teen in Jet-Ski Accident Airlifted to Hospital” reports a 13 year old boy was riding a PWC with his brother on Lake Tarawera yesterday (Jan 1st) about 4pm when they had a minor collision while they were docking with a charter boat. The PWC overturned after the collision and “the wash created was enough to pull the boy into the vacuum caused by the boat’s propeller”. The crew saw the accident unfolding and “cut the motor and stopped it”. The young boy suffered leg injuries, was tended to by a retired surgeon who was present at the accident until the helicopter arrived. The boy received “cuts and lacerations” and was flown to a hospital in Rotorua. Note – although this article did not specifically state it was a propeller injury, later articles confirmed the boy was struck by the propeller.