Good Samaritan recovers man after vessel runs aground

PORT O’CONNOR, Texas — A good Samaritan recovered a man who was ejected from a recreational boat on the Intercoastal Waterway within the Espiritu Santo Bay, Sunday.

The good Samaritan recovered a 53 year-old male from the water and contacted Coast Guard watchstanders for assistance at 9:15 a.m. Coast Guard Station Port O’Connor launched a 25-foot Response Boat-Small and crew, which arrived and took the man aboard. He was transferred to emergency medical services and was later pronounced deceased.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department located the recreational vessel the man was piloting onshore, 49-feet from the water’s edge. At the time of the report, it was unknown if anyone else was aboard the man’s vessel.

In addition to the RBM-S, Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi dispatched a 24-ft Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat and crew, and a HH-65C Dolphin Helicopter and crew to search for additional persons in the water.

The search for additional missing boaters was called off at 2:15 p.m. Investigative efforts of the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department determined that the man was the only person on the vessel.

“Informing others of where you are going, when you will be back, and how many people you take out on your boat will help the Coast Guard in providing assistance should a boating accident occur” said Cmdr. Ed Gaynor, chief of response at Sector Corpus Christi. “We are still unclear as to how this accident happened and an investigation is currently being conducted. We hope to prevent future similar occurrences through our boating safety program.”