Y U Need Life Vest & ENG. Cut-Off Switch
 

:( It's very tragic, and I feel very sorry for the family that no longer has a father or a husband. I post this story to help promote the little safety items that can help you survive such a scenario. :( Man thrown from boat dies...



Published in the Asbury Park Press 5/12/02
By TRACY ROBINSON
STAFF WRITER
A Hazlet man jumping waves in Raritan Bay was thrown from his motorboat and was pronounced dead about two hours later, police said yesterday.

Raul Ruiz, 37, of Peters Place, was alone in his 24-foot Pantera about 250 yards north of the Keansburg Fishing Pier Friday afternoon when several witnesses saw the boat hit a large swell, soar straight up in the air and then land on its stern, said Trooper Peter Pfifer of the New Jersey State Police, Point Pleasant Marine Station.

"At some point he was ejected, but the boat kept going around in circles," Pfifer said. Investigators did not know if Ruiz was injured before being thrown into the water in the accident, which happened around 2:15, Pfifer said.

The speedboat, powered by an inboard-outboard engine, is similar in style to a cigarette boat, but shorter. It continued operating at full throttle for about an hour before it ran aground on a sandbar off Union Beach, police said.

Ruiz's pregnant wife was on the pier with their baby daughter and was videotaping her husband prior to the accident, but had just stopped taping, police said.

Initially, Ruiz was believed to still be in the boat. But when a New York Police Department harbor patrol helicopter flew over the craft, it was determined the boat was empty, said Keansburg Patrolman Brian Goode, who responded to the accident.

Ruiz later was found in the water near the scene of the accident by Coast Guard crew members from the Sandy Hook station.

He was lying face up with no pulse and he was not breathing, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Jason Olsen, of the Sandy Hook station.

Coast Guard members performed CPR on Ruiz, who was taken by police boat to shore, then transported to Bayshore Community Hospital in Holmdel. He was pronounced dead at 4:14 p.m., Olsen said.

"The guy was operating his boat recklessly," Goode said. Ruiz "had just bought the boat a month ago and only had it out four times."

"It really is a shame," Goode said.

Witnesses said they had seen the boat speeding by, jumping waves and doing doughnuts prior to the accident.

"He was out there showing off," Luis Navarrete of Secaucus said in a telephone interview yesterday. Navarrete had been on the pier fishing on Friday afternoon.

Pfifer said the weather was rough Friday, with two- to three-foot swells and winds of 17 mph.

The cause of death was still under investigation yesterday.

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed today at CentraState Medical Center in Freehold Township.

Olsen said Ruiz was not wearing a life jacket.

"If he was wearing his life jacket, his chances of survival would have increased," Olsen said.

That is sad. One of my projects today is installing a kill lanyard. It was my next task, even before reading this post.

Yes very sad..............:( :(

Sad story, but a great reminder to all of us.

I got my kill laynard installed this afternoon. It only took 20 minutes to do. I got lucky that it fit in the hole where the cigarette lighter was, so I didn't have to drill a hole. Cut one wire and put connectors on it and hooked it to the switch. Very little work for what may happen without it.

Glad to hear it Cuda!!! I hope others will consider it as well...;)

dude that happend to me when I was a kid in my 13'whaler, I disconnected the kill/line and was thrown from the boat when it went into a spin. I watched the boat spin away from me. I had my life jackett and was able to swim to shore a good 100yards. My boat was saved from the rocks by the coast guard and my dad, by catching the steering wheel with a line between boats. Have never boated again without a life jackett, and kill switch. Sad story I also feel sorry for family.:(

Velocity260, you're lucky it went away from you....:eek: It would have really sucked getting run over by your own boat. :eek: :eek:

BODY SHOT1
 

Here's info on Pantera accident

A terrible story,
lanyards,pfd's, and some knowledge, a must

the sea is a mighty force

:( :( :(

mattyboy

Shark...a friend just called to ask me about this story a couple hours ago...he was afraid it was one of my "boat friends"...glad it wasn't...but very sad to say the least...

First thing I said was, he must not have had his lanyard attached...:mad: ...and no jacket....:mad: :(

Just have to be smarter than that....Damn shame....
:(

makes me think twice! a couple of Lifeline poker run jackets are on the way .......

I am with you sonic dude, just order two lifeline poker run jackets, and two mustang jackets for the kids.

This was mentioned on another board (discussing this same story) - make sure you buy a second lanyard or set of lanyards and put them someplace safe on the boat - here's why.

Let's say me and the Mrs are out tearing up the lake, and I get tossed. Now, as a responsible performance boater, I had my lanyard attached and a lifejacket on. The lanyard kills the motor, and the lifejacket keeps me from drowning, but the Admiral can't start the boat without the lanyard.

Now imagine of the driver is unconcious, or seriously hurt - the person(s) left on boat can only drift along and watch.

I never even thought about this until Bill272's wife, the lovely and talented freckles, brought it up. Words of wisdom - get an extra set of lanyards and let everyone on board know where they are, just in case something happens to you (God forbid).

My kill switch works differently.
I have a toggle switch that the lanyard hooks onto. If the lanyard is pulled off the switch is flipped down. Even if the lanyard is removed a passenger can reset the switch with their fingure by simply flipping the switch up.
Now the ploblem......can they drive the boat.
Whenever I wear my lanyard ( which admittedly is not as often as I should ) I tell my passangers how to over ride it but have not necessarily let them drive. Although I have shown my girlfriend, past and present, I would not take those kind of risks with them in the boat.

Good point though, my switch can be operated manually, but I'm probably the only one (in the boat, or it that case, out!) who knows about it.

GOOD POINT!!! :)

On my most recent boat (currently boatless :( ), the lanyard was a clip that held a springloaded button in the 'down' position. Remove the clip - or even just get it a little off-center - and it cut the current to the ignition. I just assumed that they all worked the same way; goes to show ya what happens when you assume! :)

Another suggestion on Kill Switches. Be sure they cut off your fuel pumps as well!!! Let's say your engine shuts down but the fuel pump is still pumping and a line breaks. :eek: Another disaster could possibly happen..... Obviously this would be for Outboards with auxiliary pumps... or electric pumps on inboards. Kill the motor and kill the fuel pump. Good rule of thumb......;)