FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Two people suffered life-threatening injuries over the weekend in a boat collision in Fort Lauderdale, authorities said.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said FWC officers, as well as authorities from the Fort Lauderdale Police Department and Fort Lauderdale Fire Department, responded about 10:30 p.m. Saturday to a crash in the Intracoastal Waterway near 31st Street, a short distance from Bokampers Sports Bar & Grill.
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Authorities said a 2000 31-foot Angler, operated by Max Irvine, 36, of Deerfield Beach, collided with a 1998 22-foot Twin Vee, operated by Andre Neves, 37, of Pompano Beach.
"One of the boats, they didn't have their headlights on, and they had like a head-on collision with the other boat, and the guy fell off and he hit his head," Gabi Downey, who witnessed the crash, said.
Another witness saw several bottles of alcohol inside one of the boats, but it's not clear if alcohol played a role in the crash.
Authorities said Neves and his passenger, Juliani Da Costa Maria, 29, of Boca Raton, were taken to Broward Health Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.
Two other people on board the boat, William Roundtree and Evelyn Roundtree, both 26 and from Boca Raton, were also taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Irvine and his passenger, Amanda Macke, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, were not injured in the crash.
"All of the members of the FWC want to express our sincere sympathies to the victims and families of the victims involved in these incidents," the FWC said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of them. The FWC would like to take this opportunity to remind all boaters enjoying Florida’s beautiful waterways to do so safely. Please wear your life jacket and maintain 360-degree awareness at all times while boating."
It's unclear whether anyone will face charges in the crash.