Coast Guard cleans up spill after freighter sinks docked boat on Cuyahoga River
June 03, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Source: WKYC
CLEVELAND - A Great Lakes freighter carrying a load of gravel sliced and sunk a 36-foot boat docked along the west bank of the Flats Sunday night.
Elvin Jones, of Shaker Heights, had just tied up his boat, the Beverly II, along the Cuyahoga River. He and a friend were eating dinner at Shooters on the Water when the collision happened.
“We saw the crowd running and we decided to come out and see what was happening,” Jones said. “Then I found out we were part of the action, the main course.”
No one was injured. A second boat at the dock belonging to the owner of Shooter’s Restaurant was also damaged. Jones’ boat was no match for the freighter, the Cuyahoga. The fiberglass powerboat sank in just a few minutes.
According to Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Linda Sturgis, the freighter regularly travels the Cuyahoga River.
“Standard protocol would require a drug test (of freighter pilot),” Lt. Commander Sturgis said. “We’ll get witness statements, check charts, recheck the track line and the weather, interview the master and interview who was on watch.”
John Granzier saw the collision slowly unfold. “(The Cuyahoga) just barreled into the middle of the boat and crushed it,” Granzier said. “Before that we saw a guy running back and forth (on the freighter). We didn’t realize something was going on. So they must have noticed that they were getting real close.”
Read the rest of the story, view video and photo gallery at WKYC >>
