Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Just saw on the evening news that a twin step Top Gun went up on the rocks at metro beach. Some injuries were reported. Anyone know more?

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

There was a thread over on the Lake St Clair network (www.lakestclair.net) - news story I saw said the boat hit the rock breakwall, then launched 100+ feet onto the beach, *clearing* a 3 ft fence on the way! :eek:

Happened at night after they left Jack's Waterfront - cops said "alcohol was likely a factor". Story is the guy saw another boat in front of him, swerved and hit the beach.

Here's the news story from our local "boat-hating" TV station: http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/4846083/detail.html

More to come, I'm sure...

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Ouch, that's gonna leave a mark..or several of them. :eek:

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

a lil duct tape from Jeffy and some wax good as new:D

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

notice no pictures of the outdrives on that news report :rolleyes: dem pupies are toast.

hey , this could be the begining of a new sport , kinda like pole vaulting ,

*** boat vaulting ***

come on reggie , we know you can beat 100 feet , hell , you already got a 3 foot advantage :D

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Hey, I know Pole Vaulting - I Jumped in HS. Managed to win Districts

But this isn't funny, WTF happened??
I know that area.
Alcohol was involved? I'm getting pretty tired of alcohol being blamed for anything that goes wrong. Sounds like an accident to me. Someone went the wrong way, and someone else tried to get the hell out of the way of the idiot.
I hope no one was hurt.
That had to be one Helluva ride - I've launched off a 4-5 roller, but never a breakwall.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

:eek: ouch!!

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

*Rumor* and I stress, rumor, has it the guy blew a .25. I think the cops are just waiting to verify who was driving...

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

OK - at .25
a factor
Still hope no one was injured. Although, with a ride like that....you can only hope for the best.
Hope everyone is OK.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

.25....that's going to leave more of a mark than the breakwall did!!! :eek:

There is just no reason for getting that drunk and putting other people's lives at risk.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

A factor??? That is 3 times the legal limit in our State! I sure as hell don't want to be travelling at night knowing that is coming at me!

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Zactly! :mad:

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

.25 :eek: isn't that like passed out on the floor numbers???

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

OK, maybe I should have used capital letter's or something to stress the irresponsibilty of the driver.

You're absolutely right. I don't want to be sharing the water with anyone this drunk.
In all fairness - D.R. said it is still rumor. Let's hope it's not true. Kind of gives all of us just another black eye.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

When the attorneys,insurance companies and law enforcement finish with him he will wish he had passed out and hit the floor prior to casting off.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Me to !!!! I wish these Phuktards would learn NOT to get drunk & Boat !!...Pretty much why I dont boat at night anymore,I dont need to get run down by some 80mph drunk.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

come on reggie , we know you can beat 100 feet , hell , you already got a 3 foot advantage :D[/QUOTE]


ROTFLMAO :D

Seriously, this kinda of stuff is gonna hurt us all on several fronts. :( Hope everyone is/was alright.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Would depend on your tolerance level. But that is freakin wasted to most anyone.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Word is that there were 3 people in the boat, one was ejected (the one most seriously hurt). All are expected to make it. The boat belongs to the owner of one of the local Ford dealerships.

I don't know exactly where they were, but the whole area around Metro Beach, especially to the south (Jacks Waterfront Bar is south of Metro Beach) is shallow - not a place I'd want to run during the day, let alone at night. Of course, it's easy to get disoriented at night - not a lot of lights in the park.

For reference (not the greatest, but to give you an idea), here's a chart. Jacks' is around #12, Metro Beach is #9. The other chart is a zoom of the south side of Metro Beach - not much there.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

And just to reiterate, the .25 is a rumor I heard on a site dedicated to the local boating scene, not confirmed. But the Sheriff specifically stated in all the reports that I've heard, "Alcohol appears to have been a factor." I'm sure it will all come out in the wash.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Guy's a cop, alcohol was a factor, 1 critical, driver broken leg.
And he is currently suspended from duty. Ya think.
Sad for all involved. At least no one died, and lets hope the passenger makes a full recovery.
Life is about lessons, this officer is going to be learning one for years to come.
I have cop friends and they cant afford ciggarettes?
This information from fox news, not responsible for inaccuracy. JC

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Yup, s'posed to be settn' an example, all he is doing is setting his sentence. He must have been going very fast to launch like this, I bet the "boat" he say was nothing at all, why would there be a boat where he was?? Obviously it was just a small distance to shore and the wall so why would a boat be there unless it was anchored. You know, even if the officer was not driving he was there and knew better. This booze/crash scenario has to end, just what is it going to take to make people learn....before a tragedy like this has to force other behavior???? I hope all pull thru. I for one will not step foot onto a boat or into an auto if the driver has been drinking, even if it is a little, your reaction time is shot and if you are in a situation where someone could hit you there is that loss of judgment that otherwise could have helped avoid the other person hitting you. That and I hate to feel out of control, I will take the wheel for them if sober and if not I will either walk or call a cab. I WILL NOT DIE AS ANOTHER STATISTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

I guess the driver and the owner were 2 diff people??? Owner was a local Ford dealership?

A hard lesson learned indeed, probably by all of us (again) unfortunately. Hopefully all will recover enuf to tell others what not do do while trying to boat responsibly.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

[QUOTE=njgr8ful]I guess the driver and the owner were 2 diff people??? Owner was a local Ford dealership?


From WDIV:
A boat went airborne and crashed into Metro Beach Park early Friday, according to the Macomb County Sheriff's Department.
The driver of the 38-foot Cigarette boat and two others were leaving Jack's Waterfront Restaurant on Lake St. Clair when the driver said he saw another boat in front of him, Sheriff Mark Hackel said.
The driver then tried to steer around the boat, hit the shoreline and launched the vessel over a 3-foot railing and 100 feet into Metro Beach Park, Hackel said.
One passenger was ejected and is in critical condition. Another is in serious condition, and the driver suffered a broken leg, Local 4 reported.
The boat is owned by Paul Shamo, the owner of the Taylor Ford dealership. Shamo is also a volunteer for the Macomb County Sheriff's Department, the station reported.
Sheriff's deputies said that alcohol appeared to be a factor in the crash, but they would not say who was driving the boat until charges are filed.
The boat suffered deep gouges to its bow, but there was no other visible damage


They said it was a fishing boat that was anchored, could be true, could be a story but it does sound odd. Makes me sad since we have done that trip many time, eat at Jacks and then head to Metro to spend the night in the Marina, in fact that is what we plan on doing tonight. We try like hell to leave before dark.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Alcohol was involved? I'm getting pretty tired of alcohol being blamed for anything that goes wrong.
Birdog - I made that statement before there was "rumor" of .25
there are too many accidents blamed on alcohol - when someone had
ABeer.
I totally agree that .25 is laying on the floor - I'm sure I've been there before, or at least I know I've been on the floor. But I'm not going to operate a boat in that state. I'll stay on the floor.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

I don't know why anybody would expect the drinking and boating to stop, it happens on our roadways all day, everyday, where the risk of getting caught must be 100 times more likely. For most people, boating is a recreational activity and good percentage of the population drinks for recreation. Unfortunately, people don't seem to get the picture until something actually happens to them.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Certainly cannot argue with that statement

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

[QUOTE=Ms PatriYacht]Thanks a Ms P. ... a volunteer cop .. we don't count them in NJ :rolleyes: :( :mad:

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Why go fast at night? And fast enough to jump a 3' railing. Doug

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

I really hate seeing reports like this, hopefully everyone involved recovers, as far as the person driving the boat, if he was that drunk, hopefully he spends some time behind bars. :mad: I have no sympathy for someone who would knowingly endanger anyone like that especially friends or family.

Taylor Ford for those locals that don't know is on Telegraph about five miles south of 94 at the corner of Goddard Rd., it use to be Ray Whitfield(sp) ford up until about 6 months ago.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

i sure would like to see a pic of the "initial touchdown area" that had to leave a mark ...

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

I've been to Metro Beach a few times. Not only is the water near Metro Beach shallow, but there is a NO WAKE ZONE at the entrance to the channel/canal leading into Metro Beach Park before the break wall starts. How do you launch a Top Gun over a breakwall and eject passengers at NO WAKE speed?

FCN' IDIOT!

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Hmmmmm... Alcohol + Darkness, same old story. If you insist on being out after dark, SLOW DOWN!

I think darkness is a more of a factor than alcohol in a lot of these accidents. If the guy was in fact .25 and it was during daylight hours it probably wouldn't of happened. Boating at night is DANGEROUS even when sober.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Bullsh*t. Way too many people are out there drinking and driving. When I go to Lake Havasu, it might be 115 degrees....you can have 2-3 drinks over 4 hours and still probably be over the limit while in the hot sun. Of course, some places, like Havasu, have a ZERO tolerance level for alcohol related incidents.
People need to be smarter. They don't seem to realize thay could be risking other peoples lives.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Semper - this may have been the wrong time or place to bring up this topic. And as more comes out - probably a very poor area to discuss this. I think the point I was trying to make was misread (or not properly stated).
If the guy was .25 - well, c'mon, we know he was rocked.
My point was simply, if you've had 1 drink, after that , according to the Law and the Media, any mishap that occurs is alcohol related.
I was trying to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe I was wrong, but there are only "rumors", no facts yet.
I'm not a judge or a jury.
You're right. Tolerance has alot to do with it. Conditions (Heat, sun, time) have a lot to do with it also.

DaveM - Boating at .25 - NOT A GOOD IDEA!!!!
yeah, you're right , probably wouldn't have happened in daylight.

He would have instead been running wide open close to a beach or other boats. Seeing double.
NOT A SMART MOVE.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Thats a damn shame. I hope everybody is ok. Does anybody know the year of the Gun?

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought it was a good idea.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Its a new 3 step from Cigarette..........

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Here is my take...

Most people don't know much about offshore boats until they see a news story on TV or read about an accident in the newspaper.

The part they remember is that it is a fast boat and fast boats are dangerous...they forget about the rest of the minute details like the driver being drunk and boating in a no wake zone at full bore etc...

It gives the sport a bad name and hurts business and the image of safe speed many have worked for.

The next thing you know you have a group of crusaders looking for speed limits and the blame is shifted to the type of boat or manufacturer.

This is usually not the case in auto accidents because cars are not exotic boats and everybody needs one. So alcohol is focused on instead.

So who ever goes out boating drunk needs to be the focus of the incident. I already heard from two friends calling me and making sure I was ok when they heard this because they know I have access to a couple "cigarette boats" in the area. Their comments were..."I hope you learned that speeding is unsafe..you should give it up"...on and on...

The lake is flooded with coast guard units today and my friend was pulled over for a courtesy inspection and told to slow down...he was in an area where there is no speed limit.

Drunks ruin it for everybody.

Re: Top Gun Crash at Metro Beach
 

Dave - didn't mean to call you out on that. No offense meant. Nor to anyone else on the board.

This isn't the time or place. I'll pick up my soap box and wait for the right channels to express my thoughts.

I hope all involved in the accident are recovering well.