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Boater falls overboard, is cut by propeller
By ABBIE VANSICKLE DUNEDIN -- A New Port Richey man was in critical condition Monday after tumbling off a boat in busy Hurricane Pass. Monte Owen Baptiste, 31, was riding on the bow of a 20-foot Bayliner boat Sunday evening when it crashed into a sandbar, sending him flying off the front of the boat, said Pinellas County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Marianne Pasha. The incident illustrates the growing danger of boating in the area, several boaters and anglers said. They cited shallow water, rising traffic and alcohol use by boaters. After he fell into the water about 7:25 p.m. Sunday, Baptiste was pulled underneath the boat and hit the propeller, Pasha said. The propeller cut his right arm in several places and nearly severed his left arm. Baptiste was taken to shore by two local fishermen and flown to Tampa General Hospital. The boat's driver, Kenneth Crawford, 35, of Clearwater was arrested on charges of operating a vessel while under the influence of alcohol and reckless operation of a vessel. Crawford's blood alcohol level at the time will not be known until next week, said Sheriff's Office spokesman Greg Tita. Four other people were on the boat, Pasha said. No one else was injured. The time of the crash, just minutes before sunset, combined with Crawford's inexperience in Hurricane Pass made for a dangerous situation, she said. Crawford told authorities he was unfamiliar with the waters around Hurricane Pass, also known as Dunedin Pass, and did not know about the sandbars just beneath the surface between Honeymoon Island and Caladesi Island, she said. Joe Mulholland and Burnie Collins, the fishermen who helped pull Baptiste from the water, were out in Mulholland's 18-foot boat when a Bayliner sped past with a man riding on the bow, they said. The men said the boat was going fast, and the boat veered sharply to the left and back to the right before moving out of sight. They said they saw the man sitting on the bow nearly lose his balance. Just a few minutes later, they heard a call over their marine radio about an accident in Hurricane Pass. The two men turned their boat around and sped toward the scene of the accident, Mulholland said. The waters near Hurricane Pass have become increasingly crowded and dangerous for boaters in recent years, said Tampa native Tony Diaz. Diaz, who often sails his boat in the pass, said he's seen many boaters consuming alcohol and trying stunts in the water. "Drinking and boating don't mix," he said. "There's too much alcohol out here, too much. A few beers put people a little bit out of control. The water is also very shallow here, which is a bad combination if people don't know the area." Boating accidents are frequent occurences in Pinellas County, according to the state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. According to the agency's 2001 report, the county ranked fifth in the state in the number of recreational boating accidents. Last year, there were 64 such accidents in the county, causing more than $481,000 of property damage, according to the report. Clearwater resident Patsy Reeves said she and her husband used to take their children out in their boat on holidays. But after a frightening near-collision on the Fourth of July, Reeves said, the family steers clear of the water during peak times. "There are just too many people out here who act like maniacs in their boats," Reeves said.
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