Fatal wreck in the ditch Sunday

[V153]

Happened around 7pm in the ICW right behind Venice High School. Captain said he hit a submerged object & lost control, sending him into the rocks. His female passenger was ejected and seriously injured. She was airlifted to Blake Trauma Center in Bradenton but died yesterday.

One can only hope the submerged object he hit wasn't one of our precious Manatee. And that the treasured sea cow wasn't harmed or traumatized in any way ...

That part of the ditch is probly the worst place you could run into the wall. It's very steep there.

ref this pic: High School's on the other side. 

[Jerry]

[V153]

And I thought I had poor taste.

Screw the Manatee Jerry! They are an invasive species who're ruining boating in FL. With the help & guidance of charlatan Jimmy Stuffet & company.

Guess the ole bumper sticker was right after all: "Welcome to FL, where Manatee & Turtles are more important than humans"

Lemme guess it was the dead womans fault for not looking out for the freakin sea cow? Right!?

I wish a plague on Manatee that sends them all back to the West Indies to seek treatment.


 

[Jerry]

Well we have eurasian milfoil. You have to drain your boat and leave the plug out, wash it down, and in some places have it inspected when leaving the lake. Plus they are talking about closing the Mississippi to boat traffic above Minneapolis to stop the Asian Carp, that eat everything in sight. We all have something. It's just so much fun pulling yer chain I can't stop.

[V153]

I must admit I like jerkin yer chain sometimes too Jerry. But a 41 yr old woman lost her life.

What we all face is a problem with non-native invasive species. I say eradicate each & every one with extreme prejudice.

[Rosscoe]

Well Doug it is tragic but for one thing you dont know what they hit for sure or how fast they were going etc. We have all kinds of submerged crap to hit in our rivers and lakes. Just sayin. Cant assume its a sea cow, but it may have been. What are you going to do? Kill everything that swims? Our stuff up here is often man made junk discarded or carried off shore by high water
Never good to hear about any boating accidents.

[V153]

Pure word of mouth & speculation so far. With a couple lil nondescriptive & inconclusive morsels in the press. I really don't know much more about the crash than you do Ross. Other than a woman tragically lost her life. Time will tell.

Fwiw we don't have too much trouble with floating, or semi-submerged flotsam in the ditch. Inanimate one's that is. It's the animate one's that cause all the headaches ...

[Rosscoe]

What is the ditch anyway? Man made channel?
I am in no way trying to imply this was not tragic. Hope you didn't take it like that.

[CharlieN]

They will make us install airbags and seatbelts in the boats before they give in to the cows.
So what kind of diet to you feed them to make them swim deeper?

[V153]

What is the ditch anyway? Man made channel?
I am in no way trying to imply this was not tragic. Hope you didn't take it like that.

No offense taken Ross. It's tragic that the woman was killed, but she's not the first nor will she be the last. The ditch has seen it's fair share of injuries & fatalities.

Yes the "ditch" is the man made channel/ICW connecting Roberts Bay in Venice, south to Lemon Bay in Englewood. Completed by the corps of engineers in the early 60's. Origionally it was 100' wide @ water level, but has shrunk some due to erosion. I'd reckon it's around 15 ft deep on an average tide.

Lotsa fun for the go-fast guys cuz the water's almost always smooth, sheltered from the wind by the rock walls. A couple of my Scream'n Fly buddies have recorded their best GPS times in the ditch. Me too come to think of it.

Having said that, running fast through there is not for the faint of heart. The faster you go the narrower the channel becomes, figuratively speaking that is. If you lose it for any reason you're gonna be grinding up agin a steep wall of boulders, fast. And no good can come from that ...  But I guess that's what makes it such an adrenaline rush?

Some 'Ditch Digger' pics:



 

[V153]

So what kind of diet to you feed them to make them swim deeper?

I give up. "D-Con"?

edit. Better yet, stainless steel?

[CharlieN]

I went to collage in Daytona and in my time there I never saw a rock, Was the geography of Daytona area different or where did the get all the rock to line the ditch?

[V153]

No expert but I'm purty sure FL sits mostly on limestone. Well, sand on top'a limestone that is. I believe on the east coast the limestone's deeper down. So mebbe why not so many rocks in Daytona? I dunno ... I do know there's more phosphate & shell beds in SW FL than elsewhere in the state.



 

[V153]

Kinda looks like a Bayliner to me. Ain't seen it around before. Appears to have a purty big crack down the port side back to the ws or so. See the ragged edge? Bet the bottom looks a lil worse.

RIP Alicia Starkweather.

[V153]

Our boys Paul 1 & 2 had the grim task of scooping her into the VPD Whaler. They hauled her back to the Train Station ramp where she was loaded into a bambalance, and then the chopper.

[V153]

Feel for Paul #2. He just came aboard marine patrol a few months ago.

Welcome to the ditch Paul ...