Sea Esta
09-29-2003, 09:09 AM
Here is the article from this mornings paper. This happen at the Alton pool which is north of St Louis on the Mississippi River.
Four are killed as ski boat hits dam near Alton
By PAUL HAMPEL
A ski boat that witnesses said had been crisscrossing the Mississippi River
near Alton at high speed crashed into the Mel Price Locks and Dam just after
darkness set in Sunday, killing four and injuring two.
Alton Fire Chief Tim Spaulding said the boat hit the third pier on the massive
concrete structure on the Missouri side of the river at about 7:30 p.m.
"It was a high-speed impact," said Spaulding.
The chief said three men and a woman had died and two women were seriously
injured in the crash.
The injured women were taken to St. Anthony's Hospital in Alton. One woman was
conscious and speaking with investigators late Sunday night. The other woman
was taken by medical helicopter to a St. Louis hospital. Their conditions were
not immediately available.
The identities of the victims were not available, but all were from
the St. Louis area, the fire chief said.
"It was full dark when the boat hit," Spaulding said.
Much of the 19-foot pleasure craft remained intact but was trapped against the
locks.
Spaulding said the craft likely would have sunk but was being held aloft by the
locks. At 10:15 p.m., Alton authorities and staff at the locks and dam had yet
to decide whether to remove the wreckage immediately or leave it until this
morning, Spaulding said.
A fisherman from Alton whose boat was moored on the Illinois side of the river
near the locks said he had watched the boat speeding around the area known as
the Alton Pool just before the crash.
"I saw them speeding back and forth several times," said Willie Jenkins, 46, of
Alton. "They were running pretty fast. I went back to my fishing, and then all
of a sudden, just ka-boom!"
Jenkins said he turned to see debris flying through the air and a small amount
of smoke rising from the boat's engine.
He did not have a phone on board his boat. Before he and his fishing buddy
could reach shore, emergency crews began to arrive on the roadway atop the
locks and dam. Jenkins said, however, that the first crews were unable to reach
the victims. A short time later, a rescue boat arrived, he said.
Spaulding said crews from the Alton Volunteer Emergency Service and the Alton
Fire Department were assisted by deck crews who arrived in boats from the Alton
Belle Casino.
The fire chief said the casino crews took the victims from the wreckage to the
public boat ramp about a mile away.
The chief said the victims' injuries appeared to have been caused by trauma
from the impact. But he also said some of those who died had been found below
the water's surface inside the boat.
Spaulding said his department had responded numerous times to accidents at the
locks and dam involving towboats, but he could not remember a fatal incident
involving a pleasure craft.
About an hour after the accident, investigators with the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources arrived at the crash site. A spokesman had no comment, but
Alton police Officer David DeWall said that agency would handle the
investigation.
An employee working in the lockmaster's control tower said the locks and dam
closed shortly after the crash and reopened late Sunday.
Four are killed as ski boat hits dam near Alton
By PAUL HAMPEL
A ski boat that witnesses said had been crisscrossing the Mississippi River
near Alton at high speed crashed into the Mel Price Locks and Dam just after
darkness set in Sunday, killing four and injuring two.
Alton Fire Chief Tim Spaulding said the boat hit the third pier on the massive
concrete structure on the Missouri side of the river at about 7:30 p.m.
"It was a high-speed impact," said Spaulding.
The chief said three men and a woman had died and two women were seriously
injured in the crash.
The injured women were taken to St. Anthony's Hospital in Alton. One woman was
conscious and speaking with investigators late Sunday night. The other woman
was taken by medical helicopter to a St. Louis hospital. Their conditions were
not immediately available.
The identities of the victims were not available, but all were from
the St. Louis area, the fire chief said.
"It was full dark when the boat hit," Spaulding said.
Much of the 19-foot pleasure craft remained intact but was trapped against the
locks.
Spaulding said the craft likely would have sunk but was being held aloft by the
locks. At 10:15 p.m., Alton authorities and staff at the locks and dam had yet
to decide whether to remove the wreckage immediately or leave it until this
morning, Spaulding said.
A fisherman from Alton whose boat was moored on the Illinois side of the river
near the locks said he had watched the boat speeding around the area known as
the Alton Pool just before the crash.
"I saw them speeding back and forth several times," said Willie Jenkins, 46, of
Alton. "They were running pretty fast. I went back to my fishing, and then all
of a sudden, just ka-boom!"
Jenkins said he turned to see debris flying through the air and a small amount
of smoke rising from the boat's engine.
He did not have a phone on board his boat. Before he and his fishing buddy
could reach shore, emergency crews began to arrive on the roadway atop the
locks and dam. Jenkins said, however, that the first crews were unable to reach
the victims. A short time later, a rescue boat arrived, he said.
Spaulding said crews from the Alton Volunteer Emergency Service and the Alton
Fire Department were assisted by deck crews who arrived in boats from the Alton
Belle Casino.
The fire chief said the casino crews took the victims from the wreckage to the
public boat ramp about a mile away.
The chief said the victims' injuries appeared to have been caused by trauma
from the impact. But he also said some of those who died had been found below
the water's surface inside the boat.
Spaulding said his department had responded numerous times to accidents at the
locks and dam involving towboats, but he could not remember a fatal incident
involving a pleasure craft.
About an hour after the accident, investigators with the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources arrived at the crash site. A spokesman had no comment, but
Alton police Officer David DeWall said that agency would handle the
investigation.
An employee working in the lockmaster's control tower said the locks and dam
closed shortly after the crash and reopened late Sunday.