GUILTY FL - Charlie Smith, 6, dies in hit & run boat accident, Key West, 29 May 2006

Liz

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This is absolutely horrific! Hard to believe a 13 y.o. is the responsible culprit! :(

6-year-old Key West boy was killed in a boating accident Monday

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/nation/14694760.htm

By THERESA BRADLEY
tbradley@MiamiHerald.com

A 6-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run boating accident while snorkeling next to his parents' 22-foot motorboat near Key West Monday afternoon, said Lt. Steve Acton of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the agency investigating the crash.

A 13-year-old boy, believed to have been driving the second boat, was arrested three hours later. Charges against him are pending, Acton said.

The 6-year-old boy, a Key West resident whose name has not been released, was snorkeling with his father and sibling at noon Monday, beside their boat which was anchored near Stock Island's Sunset Marina.

A passing 18-foot skiff sped over him, crashing into and sailing over his father's empty outboard, which later sank, Acton said. The motorized skiff then sped away. --> more at link
 
So there were two people in the 18 foot boat--the 13 year old driver and the "teen" who hit his head and went to the ER? I wonder how old the "teen" was, and if these kids' parents knew they were taking the boat out alone! Is it even legal for a 13 yo to be piloting a boat?! This is so tragic, and could have been prevented. I wonder if alcohol was involved.
 
MSM said:
So there were two people in the 18 foot boat--the 13 year old driver and the "teen" who hit his head and went to the ER? I wonder how old the "teen" was, and if these kids' parents knew they were taking the boat out alone! Is it even legal for a 13 yo to be piloting a boat?! This is so tragic, and could have been prevented. I wonder if alcohol was involved.


No, its not legal for the teenager to be driving the boat without adult supervision. I don't believe though that he should be "charged as an adult."
 
I have a 13 year old boy and it is nothing to go out to the driveway and see cars he has moved around so he can shoot basketball. This makes me sooooooo mad and I have punished him for it. Boys at this age do no think of the consequences to their misbehaving. This is so sad.
 
Masissy said:
I have a 13 year old boy and it is nothing to go out to the driveway and see cars he has moved around so he can shoot basketball. This makes me sooooooo mad and I have punished him for it. Boys at this age do no think of the consequences to their misbehaving. This is so sad.


I'm confused. Did you say that your teenaged son takes your keys and moves your vehicles??? If that is indeed what you said, PLEASE put your keys in a place whey they are not accessible to him. The consequences to himself, you and a toddler that he may run over would be unimagineable.
 
Jeana (DP) said:
I'm confused. Did you say that your teenaged son takes your keys and moves your vehicles??? If that is indeed what you said, PLEASE put your keys in a place whey they are not accessible to him. The consequences to himself, you and a toddler that he may run over would be unimagineable.
You are not confused, he HAS moved the vehicles. While I now keep my keys put away from him, my hubby often leaves his in the car or laying around. I printed this article on the boating accident to show him. We live on a farm away from everyone so their is no chance that he could hit someone in the drive unless there is a visitor. Boys I have learned think they are untouchable and naive I am not. I can just see a friend coming over and they decide to take a drive.
 
Masissy said:
You are not confused, he HAS moved the vehicles. While I now keep my keys put away from him, my hubby often leaves his in the car or laying around. I printed this article on the boating accident to show him. We live on a farm away from everyone so their is no chance that he could hit someone in the drive unless there is a visitor. Boys I have learned think they are untouchable and naive I am not. I can just see a friend coming over and they decide to take a drive.


Ain't that the truth! My boys are 26 and 13 (next month) and they think they're indestructible. Give your husband this for me :slap: and tell him to put those keys away! :D
 
Jeana (DP) said:
Ain't that the truth! My boys are 26 and 13 (next month) and they think they're indestructible. Give your husband this for me :slap: and tell him to put those keys away! :D
:slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: :slap: x 1 billion!!!!

Thanks Jeana(DP) on the boy agreeing. It is good to know I am not alone in my thinking.
 
Another article with a few more details:

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/30/boater.death/index.html

"It was obvious from what witnesses said that he knew he had run over a boat," Acton said.

******
In Florida, anyone under 21 must pass an approved boater safety course or have an adult onboard to operate a vessel with at least 10 horsepower, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Web site.
*******
 
I used to live in Minneapolis and we always had a number of boating accidents on the various lakes & rivers in the summer, especially over the holiday weekends. Often they involve alcohol. Once I was working in the ER when an entire family was brought in after their boat was rammed by another speeding powerboat...I'll never forget the father and two older kids side by side in the trauma room asking if the smallest child had been found yet :( These accidents seem even sadder because they happen when families are out enjoying time together.

I don't know if the 13 year old should be tried as an adult either, but the consequences of what he did are tremendous.
 
I just dont understand it, when I was growing up we lived in Ft. Lauderdale, we had a boat and went out into the ocean every weekend that we could, and there is NO WAY that I ever would have thought about taking the boat out by myself or with friends. My parents would have KILLED me if I had taken the boat out without them.

Why do kids feel that they can do whatever they want? This child will definately pay the consequences. My grandmother always said "Those who dont hear, must feel". How true those words are.
 
I used boats all my life. At 15-16 we water skied in the bay down the shore using a boat with at least a 45 horsepower motor all kids onboard. I drove my dad's 75 horsepower in the Delaware River at 10. I pulled skiiers, but of course had an adult on board then. We lived on a lake and rowed boats and drove motor boats on that lake all our lives, all ages.

This is a dreadful accident.


However, I would never even as an adult take a boat out the treacherous inlet in our area by myself.
 
Jeana (DP) said:
Ain't that the truth! My boys are 26 and 13 (next month) and they think they're indestructible
Oh Lord please tell me I dont have this kind of stuff to look forward too with my son!!! I grew up with 3 brothers so I know how stubborn boys can be!! Oh I will be doing lots of praying :eek: .
 
michelle said:
Oh Lord please tell me I dont have this kind of stuff to look forward too with my son!!! I grew up with 3 brothers so I know how stubborn boys can be!! Oh I will be doing lots of praying :eek: .
Yep they are totally a different breed.
 
From November 2006:

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2006Nov14/0,4675,SnorkelingDeath,00.html

A teenager has been sentenced to a juvenile detention program after pleading no contest to charges stemming from a Memorial Day boating accident that killed a 6-year-old boy off the Florida Keys.

Circuit Court Judge Sandra Taylor ruled Monday that Christopher J. Ruiz, 13, will stay at the center for high-risk juveniles for an indeterminate amount of time based upon his behavior, level of achievement and cooperation.
 

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