According to the Myrtle Beach,South Carolina, Sun News, a man vacationing in South Carolina died in a boating accident this weekend on the Intracoastal Waterway. According to the Charleston Coast Guard Station, 27-year-old Michael Warner was riding a personal watercraft on Saturday afternoon and jumping waves created by wakes when he lost control of his boat and crashed into another larger water vessel.
The South Carolina boat collision flung the young man under the second boat, where his trunk and legs were severely injured by the boat’s propeller. The boating accident victim was rushed by emergency respondents to the New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he died from serious internal injuries. He was flown to the hospital by helicopter.
Horry County Coroner Robert Edge reported that the man died on Sunday morning from the propeller blade wounds incurred in the boating accident. Petty Officer Brian Hillman with the Charleston Coast Guard Station said that the man had lost control of his small watercraft while jumping waves, but did not say whether or not the boating accident victim had been driving recklessly or speeding on the water. It is also unclear whether or not drugs or alcohol was a factor in the fatal boat crash. The boating accident is still under investigation by the Coast Guard.
This boating accident was one of a rising number of boat collisions to take place this summer in the Myrtle Beach area. Officials believe that the lower gas prices this summer has lead to greater activity on the water – and more boating accidents.