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An afternoon of boating turned into a tragedy in southwest Florida, where three people died and another is hospitalized following the violent capsizing of a speedboat on the Caloosahatchee River, near the Cape Coral Yacht Club. Witnesses described the accident as "insane" and "a collision in the air."
According to a report from the New York Post, the 39-foot MTI boat capsized on Saturday around 4–5 p.m., throwing its four occupants into the water. Two of them died at the scene, while a third was transported to the hospital in critical condition. The Coast Guard recovered the body of the fourth victim the following day after an extensive multi-agency search.
One of the witnesses who saw the accident from the shore told the channel WSVN that the boat was coming "at full speed" and that it even lifted into the air for three or four seconds before crashing into the water. "I saw a crash, water was everywhere. It was crazy," he recounted to the New York Post.
According to Gulf Coast News, the victims have been identified as Brenna Millett, Rebecca King/Knight, and Neal Kirby, who were taken to the hospital immediately after the accident. Both Millett and King died hours later. Kirby remains in critical but stable condition.
The fourth occupant, Craig Millett, 60 years old, remained missing all night until divers found his body the next morning near the site of the accident.
Trenton Zamniak, a sailor who was near the area, was one of the first to rush to help.
“The boat tilted about 90 degrees and slid backward,” he recounted. Minutes later, he and his friends found an unconscious man floating in the water. “He was coughing up a lot of saltwater and wasn't breathing well. We began performing CPR while the rescuers arrived,” he said to Gulf Coast News. “We were in the right place, at the right time, to help someone in need.”
What is known so far about the accident
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), cited by of the USA TODAY Network, stated that the exact cause of the capsizing is still unknown. There were no other boats involved, and an investigation is ongoing to determine who was operating the vessel.
A witness assured the channel Fox 4 that the boat was traveling between 75 and 80 miles per hour, although that information has not been confirmed by the authorities.
FWC spokesperson Bradley Johnson also revealed that the ship's engines "appeared to have detached" during the impact and that the wind, with gusts of up to 22 mph that day, may have affected the direction and visibility.
The search and response involved multiple emergency agencies, including the Lee County Sheriff's Office, the Cape Coral Police and Fire Departments, maritime units from Sanibel, Matlacha, Iona McGregor, and the Coast Guard.
The FWC continues its investigation to clarify what caused a high-performance boat to capsize in a matter of seconds during what many described as a normal day of boating.
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