WASHINGTON — Amid a deadly summer on area waterways, police are taking action this weekend to prevent more fatalities.
At Sandy Point State Park on the Chesapeake Bay, as many boaters headed out for a day on the water, leaders announced a boating safety initiative, which will include an additional police presence on the water and free safety checks at busy marinas.
“Officers will be checking for life jackets and other required safety equipment, looking for reckless boaters, and targeting alcohol or drug-impaired operators,” says Maryland Natural Resources Police Lt. Col. Ken Ziegler. The stepped-up patrols will last for the next four weekends.
Seventeen people have died in boating accidents in Maryland this year. Police, fire-rescue and Coast Guard personnel, along with family members of victims, held up 17 life jackets in memory of the victims.
Police say at least 14 of those killed were not wearing life jackets, and one of their top priorities is to remind boaters to use them. The victims ranged in age from 7 to 63 years old. “They were boaters, crabbers, paddlers, anglers, casual passengers,” Ziegler says. The 17 victims so far this year are five more than the state saw all of last year.
