San Diego boat accident leaves six injured [UPDATED]

Six people aboard a recreational boat were injured today after colliding with a Coast Guard patrol boat in San Diego Bay, authorities said.  

A 33-foot Coast Guard vessel crashed against the boat with 13 passengers just before 6 p.m., U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Jetta Disco said. Another Coast Guard boat in the area responded to the incident and helped take the passengers to shore. 

A spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said that all six of the victims, one of whom was under the age of 18, were taken to UC San Diego Medical Center. The extent of their injuries was unknown.

[Updated, 9 p.m.: The victim who was under the age of 18 was pronounced dead at UC San Diego Medical Center, authorities said. The name and gender were not given. According to a spokesman for the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, the recreational boat the victim was riding in was in the water during the annual San Diego Bay Parade of Lights, an annual celebration where dozens of boats decked in Christmas lights take part in a procession around the bay. A member of the parade planning committee said he did not believe the boat was a registered participant in the event.]

Both boats involved in the accident were taken to shore, where the damage was being assessed, Disco said. The size and type of the recreational boat were unknown. The cause of the accident is under investigation.

 -- Corina Knoll

Comments

[Larry]

If the Coast Guard small boat was responding to distress case they most likely had their blue light and siren going. The blue light means the same thing on the water as on land. The other boats should have stayed out its way. I bet all that made comments against the Coast Guard would have a different opinion if they were rescuing you offshore in high winds and big waves.

Most of the posters weren't at the event or have a maritime law background, so all should not be making judgments about the accident.