Three Dead In Two Boat Accidents Saturday On Lake Murray

Published: Sunday, May. 02, 2010

Three dead in two boat accidents on S.C. lake

By ADAM BEAM - abeam@thestate.com

Three people are dead and one is critically injured after four boats collided in separate accidents on Lake Murray last night.

The accidents happened between Susie Ebert Island and the Coast Guard Station, near the Lake Murray and Lighthouse marinas, according to Lt. Robert McCullough with the Department of Natural Resources.

The names of the deceased have not yet been released.

The first incident involved two boats -- a 23-foot Key West with a 225 horsepower Yamaha outboard motor and a 20-foot Sylvan with a 150 horsepower Suzuki outboard motor -- each with four couples on board. Two women died in that incident, McCullough said.

The second incident involved two boats: a 23-foot Sea Pro with a 225 horsepower Mercury outboard motor and a 14-foot Fishmaster jon boat with a 25 horsepower Mercury outboard motor. The Sea Pro had three men on board and the Fishmaster had two men on board. One man died, and another was critically injured, McCullough said.

The deaths are the first on Lake Murray this year and bring the statewide total so far to 11. Last year, 11 people total died in boating accidents in South Carolina, the lowest number since the Department of Natural Resources began keeping track, McCullough said.

With boating season just beginning, McCullough said the number of deaths so far concerns him. "It is going to be a long boating season," he said.

McCullough said there is "no indication" that the boaters did not have the required number of life jackets on board, but said it does not appear anyone was wearing a life jacket. However, McCullough said this is a rare instance where a life jacket would not have made a difference.

All other questions about the accidents -- how fast were the boats traveling, did the boats have lights on, was alcohol involved -- are under investigation, McCullough said.

"The hardest thing about a collision on the water is there are no skid marks, no debris on the ground," he said. "You've got to use what you've got and put it back together. It's a puzzle."

The Richland County Sheriff's Department is assisting in the investigation, McCullough said.