A 6-year-old girl who died in a “tragic accident” after she was accidentally struck by a boat her mother was operating is the latest death of a child in a boating-related incident this summer across the United States.
Boating, wakeboarding, kayaking and other water sports and activities can be fun for families as the weather heats up and while many families enjoy boating without any issues, sometimes these activities can also pose a risk for children — resulting in injury or even death, officials said.
The six-year-old girl’s family had been on a wakeboard boat on Lake Pleasant, Arizona, when “unbeknownst to the family, the child had somehow entered the water,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. The child’s father was in the water holding onto a wakeboard when he saw an unidentified person in the water and swam toward what he soon realized was his child’s body.
The girl was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Thousands of boating accidents happen every year
Police said a preliminary investigation showed the boat had all the necessary safety equipment, including life jackets and fire extinguishers and the owners of the boat were also experienced boaters.
Thousands of recreational boating accidents occur each year. In 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard reported 4,040 accidents that involved 636 deaths and 2,222 injuries. Of those incidents, 54 deceased victims and 459 injured victims were between the ages of 0 and 19.
The primary contributing factors to accidents are operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, excessive speed and machinery failure, according to the National Safe Boating Council.
The two major safety failures that cause deaths are a lack of a required personal flotation device, such as a life jacket, and uneducated boaters, according to the National Transportation Safety Board. Boating accident data has shown that when mandatory life jacket requirements are implemented, the number of drowning fatalities decreases.
All children should wear life jackets, officials say
In incidents where the cause of death was known in 2022, the Coast Guard said 85% of fatal boating accident victims who drowned were not wearing a life jacket. There were 173 accidents, including 41 deaths and 182 injuries, in which at least one person was struck by a propeller.
“Most parents would not drive anywhere without their kids in seat belts, car seats or booster seats,” according to the NTSB. “Parents should not hesitate to protect their children on the water with a life jacket.”
Children hurt in boating accidents across US
There have been a number of boating accidents involving children and teens in recent months.
In July:
- A 6-year-old girl was killed in a boating accident at Cross Lake in west Shreveport, Louisiana, KTBS-TV reported.
- An 11-year-old girl died in a boating accident on the Intracoastal Waterway in Little River, South Carolina, the Myrtle Beach Sun News reported. The young girl was struck by a propeller after the boat she was on was rocked by a wake caused by another boat. The wake caused nine of the 12 occupants, including the girl, to go overboard.
- NBC Boston reported that search and rescue crews found the body of a 17-year-old girl after a boat crashed into a jetty off the coast of Cape Cod.
- A 12-year-old boy from Philadelphia was tubing on Raquette Lake in Long Lake, New York, when he lost his grip and fell into the water, according to WIBX. He was injured by a boat propeller after the driver of the boat tried to search for the boy and couldn’t see him in the water.
- A nine-year-old boy was injured by a boat propeller in Madison Lake, Minnesota, after he jumped off the back of the boat near a dock, according to Southern Minnesota News.
In June and May:
- A 13-year-old boy died after a boating accident in Otter Tail County, Minnesota, while attending a Christian summer camp, Valley News Live reported. Officials said two juveniles were riding on an inner tube being pulled by a boat operated by a camp employee when the two fell off the tube. The 13-year-old was accidentally struck by the boat.
- A 10-year-old girl suffered a brain injury following a boat crash at Winfield Lake, Kansas, according to KWCH-DT. Chad Martin, the father of the girl, said the child had “flew off the boat” and hit the propellor of another boat after the collision.
