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Boat slams into anchored sailboat
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A man in an 18-foot center console struck an anchored sailboat near Big Pine Key early Tuesday morning and then fled the scene, according to the Coast Guard.
The crash occurred at 2:30 a.m. in Newfound Harbor Channel when the 18-footer hit the portside of the 30-foot sailboat, said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont.
The driver of the 18-footer was David Eanes, 53, of Big Pine Key, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The name of the sailboat owner was not immediately released.
The crash awoke the sailboat owner, who went outside to find the boat lodged in his bow and its operator swimming away from the scene, Bermont said.
Eanes was later found at his house in Big Pine Key, said FWC Capt. David Dipre.
FWC officers are still investigating the case as Eanes denied being on the 18-foot boat when it cashed into the sailboat, Dipre said.
"We're still trying to figure out how it happened," Dipre said. "No one has been arrested."
There were no reported injuries, but Eanes did have cuts on his hands, Bermont said.
The two boats remained lodged together after it was determined they could sink if they were pulled apart. FWC was working with salvors and the sailboat owner on that issue, Dipre said.
Newfound Harbor Channel is about 16 miles west of Sombrero Key Light off Marathon.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
alinhardt@keysnews.com
A man in an 18-foot center console struck an anchored sailboat near Big Pine Key early Tuesday morning and then fled the scene, according to the Coast Guard.
The crash occurred at 2:30 a.m. in Newfound Harbor Channel when the 18-footer hit the portside of the 30-foot sailboat, said Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Peter Bermont.
The driver of the 18-footer was David Eanes, 53, of Big Pine Key, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The name of the sailboat owner was not immediately released.
The crash awoke the sailboat owner, who went outside to find the boat lodged in his bow and its operator swimming away from the scene, Bermont said.
Eanes was later found at his house in Big Pine Key, said FWC Capt. David Dipre.
FWC officers are still investigating the case as Eanes denied being on the 18-foot boat when it cashed into the sailboat, Dipre said.
"We're still trying to figure out how it happened," Dipre said. "No one has been arrested."
There were no reported injuries, but Eanes did have cuts on his hands, Bermont said.
The two boats remained lodged together after it was determined they could sink if they were pulled apart. FWC was working with salvors and the sailboat owner on that issue, Dipre said.
Newfound Harbor Channel is about 16 miles west of Sombrero Key Light off Marathon.
alinhardt@keysnews.com
