Teenager Killed In Mission Bay Boating Accident

An 18-year-old man sustained serious injuries in a boating accident in Mission Bay on Monday.

The man was driving a power boat that was struck by another power boat, driven by his father. Father and son were both on separate boats, and apparently racing at high speeds when the accident occurred. The father seems to have lost control of his powerboat, and crashed into his son's 18-foot boat. The smaller boat was sent out of control, eventually crashing on Ski Beach. The victim was bleeding and unconscious when lifeguards reached the scene.

The San Diego Police Unit Harbor is investigating the accident. Under speed laws at Mission Bay, boaters are required to slow down speeds when they reach within 100 feet of another vessel. According to lifeguards, this accident was a case of going too close and too fast.

Rules for Preventing Boating Accidents

Staying safe in the water requires following the same rules as staying safe on the road. Boaters must avoid driving the boat at excessive speeds. On the water, it may seem like high speeds are perfectly safe, but it doesn't take long for another boat traveling at equally high speed to collide with your watercraft. Besides, boaters must avoid mixing alcohol with boating. Alcohol use is an especially serious problem during summer when thousands of recreational boaters, many of them young and inexperienced, take to California's waterways. Driving under the influence is just as foolish behavior at the helm of the boat, as it is behind the wheel of a car.

California is especially susceptible to these kinds of accidents because of its warm and sunny weather all year around, which lures boaters into the water. California's waterways are some of the busiest in the country, raising the risk of accidents. Earlier this year, there were reports of an increase in the number of boating accidents in California and across the country last year. According to the Coast Guard, there were 709 boating accident fatalities in 2008, compared to 685 the previous year. 2008 also saw 3,331 people injured in boat accidents. Overall, there were 4,789 boating accidents in 2008. These accidents resulted in property damage worth $54 million.

According to the Coast Guard report, most of these accidents occurred because of lack of boating education. Of the accidents that occurred in 2008, only 10 percent involved a boater who had some kind of boating education. The rest occurred because the boater had no formal training in operating a boat, and had no skills in safe operations, emergency procedures, etc. As California boat accident lawyers often see, lack of training and education is a major contributor to boating accident fatalities in the country.

Other factors that contribute to boating accidents are lack of proper operation and inattention of the boat operator. An inexperienced boater may be more likely to make errors that can lead to collisions and other accidents. Accidents can also be traced to malfunctioning machinery and rough weather.