EDITOR’S NOTE: The Chesapeake Bay Foundation says that 23 students, parents, teachers and staff on board the boat; the Coast Guard and Maryland Natural Resources Police put the number at 22.
WASHINGTON — A local fisherman was in the right place at the right time as he saved more than 20 people, including many young children, from the Chesapeake Bay after their boat crashed and sank Wednesday afternoon.
Fourth-grade children from a private school in Chestertown were taking a trip on the charter boat, owned by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, when they crashed into something that was submerged off Bloodsworth Island, in southern Dorchester County.
“This is an extraordinary number of potential victims,” explained spokeswoman Candy Thomson with the Maryland Natural Resources Police.
“Having 22 people go into the water and getting 22 people out is pretty remarkable.”
The group included 14 children. They were able to put on life jackets as they clung to their sinking boat and a small raft.
Before rescue crews arrived at the scene, commercial fisherman Jeremy Shockley showed up and played the role of hero.
“He managed to maneuver alongside and pull all 22 people aboard his boat and he brought them to shore,” Thomson explained.
Everyone is expected to be OK, although the captain of the charter boat had to be taken by helicopter to a hospital. Chesapeake Bay Foundation President William C. Baker says in a statement that five people were taken to nearby hospitals, “mostly with bumps and bruises,” while others were taken to the Easton hospital to be checked. He adds that everyone has since been discharged.
The U.S. Coast Guard is investigating the accident. Baker says in the statement that the foundation will “conduct a review of the incident and cooperate with the Coast Guard in their investigation.”
Below is a map showing the location of Bloodsworth Island:
WTOP’s Meg Hasken contributed to this report.
