NAPLES, Fla. – With an investigation underway after a Collier County airboat collision last week, one of the injured victims is recalling his terrifying ordeal in an interview with Local 10 News.
David Tolson said he was onboard, along with his wife, sons and several other family members. They were in Naples from California for a youth football tournament and wanted to do an Everglades tour as a fun diversion, he said.
“When we got there the kids were extremely excited,” Tolson said. “I would not be honest if I said I wasn’t excited — because I was.”
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there were 33 people involved — 20 in one airboat and 13 in the other — when the head-on crash occurred at about 3:15 p.m.
Tolson said he had friends and family onboard both vessels.
“And then at the blink of an eye, tragedy struck,” Tolson said. “I was thrown, ejected from the boat and I was quite a ways away, where I landed. Just trying to get to my family was a challenge.”
First responders were at Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tour in Ochopee and took 16 injured to nearby hospitals in the Naples–Marco Island area. Others were treated at the scene.
Tolson said he suffered a broken arm and ribs, and his wife and son were also badly injured.
A representative for Wooten’s said they are cooperating with the ongoing FWC investigation.
Tolson and his family are represented by attorneys Louis DeFreitas of Florida-based Osborne & Francis Law Firm and Miguel Dominguez of Atlanta-based Dominguez Law Firm.