An official with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says a vast majority of last year’s fatal boating accidents involved an operator who did not complete a safety course.
Speaking Friday on WLRN’s South Florida Roundup, Liam Rodriguez, a FWC spokesman, said 83% of boat operators involved in fatal accidents in Florida last year had no formal boater education.
“These safety courses are free,” Rodriguez told WLRN.
The boating safety issue landed in the public spotlight the death of a teenage girl who was wake boarding with friends off Key Biscayne on May 11.
Ella Adler, 15, was in the water near Mashta Point while and was hit by a 42-foot boat, which did not stop after striking her, according to FWC officials, who are in charge of the investigation.
The attorney for the boat's owner, 78-year-old Carlos Guillermo Alonso, who authorities say was piloting the vessel, insist he did not know that he had hit anyone.
In speaking to WLRN, Rodriguez told South Florida Roundup host Tim Padgett that Florida leads the nation with the highest number of registered vessels — 1 million. And the highest reported number of accidents: 659. It also had the nation's highest number of fatal boating accidents: 56, with 59 fatalities.
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Most accidents were in South Florida’s counties, with Monroe topping the list followed by Miami-Dade and Broward, according to the FWC’s annual report.
“The agency does a great job at promoting good boater safety practices,” said Rodriguez, who said the FWC preaches all boaters to be “vigilant on the water.”
“Know where you are. Be aware of your surroundings. Use common sense,” said Rodriguez in advising boaters, especially for the upcoming Memorial Day holiday — one of the busiest on the region’s waterways.
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