What happened to the Sunsation Friday in the East pass that caused the port side winshield to be caved in? The paper noted that the whole accident was videoed.

-Shoe

I was wondering that, too. Stu talked about it in the driver's meeting, but never said exactly what happenned.

I thought it was last year and a Baja that Stu was talking about. The paper said this years happened about 12:30pm, which was when they were doing the photo shoot. I was there at that time and didn't see anything.


http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/7615

I heard it hooked and spun out from a bad landing and ejected all the passengers.

Hope no one was hurt.

Was it the Green F4?

From the picture in the paper, it was a Sunsation and it was not the green F-4. I was in the pass when they were doing the shoot and it happened just after we left.

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/7615

Four injured in Boat Week wreck
Staff reports
Friday August 17th, 2007
Comment on this Story | Read Comments

DESTIN — At least four boaters were injured Friday when their cigarette vessel crashed during the Emerald Coast Foundation’s Boat Week celebration.

The boat was “running approximately 70 mph” near East Pass when it “hit a wake, went airborne and hit on the port side” just after noon, said Lt. Mark Hollinhead with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“That speed is certainly related to the accident,” he said.

One passenger, Lyvonnica Green of Freeport, was flown to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with an apparent cracked pelvis, Hollinhead said.

At about 6:30 p.m., he said hospital officials were “shipping her to Birmingham” because she had internal bleeding.

However, Green was still listed in critical condition at Sacred Heart at about 8 p.m.

The boat’s owner, Jon Fiegel of Niceville, and two others were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital on the Emerald Coast in Santa Rosa Beach and treated for less serious injuries.

An official at that hospital said the patients probably stayed briefly in the emergency room before they were released.

Destin firefighters using a boat rescued the boaters from the water, put them back in their vessel and escorted it to Coast Guard Station Destin.

Okaloosa Island Fire Department Capt. Michael Howard said one of the boaters was “in and out of consciousness” when firefighters responded at 12:37 p.m.

A helicopter above the scene captured the crash on video, so investigators “didn’t have to reconstruct this one,” Hollinhead said.

That video was not available late Friday.

It does not appear that alcohol was a factor in the wreck, said FWC spokesman Stan Kirkland.

All of the boaters were wearing life vests because Boat Week rules require it, Hollinhead said.

“They really push safety, and it helps. This is a good example of that.”

From a thread on Sunsation's site forum:

John (Niceville) and I were starting our run offshore for the helicopter shots.
Once past the jetty John hit a large wave and went verticle. We were 400' behind them when the came to rest. Within in 1 min we were holding onto their boat waiting for Destin Fire and rescue to show up. John dove the boat back to the Coast Guard station, where they were attended to.

In no way did the boat sink as i had heard latter that weekend, as a matter of fact if it wasn't for the damanaged windshield and cabin hatch, I noticed nothing wrong with the boat. The whole crew remained in the boat the entire time.

I do pray for a speedy recovery to John and his crew.

I hope everyone heals quickly from this incident!

How did the windshield get bent? From the sounds of it, the driver was must have been wearing a lanyard... thank goodness for that!!!

Good luck John and crew, this could happen to almost anyone. and at 70mph, that includes 90% of the readers here..

Hope for a speedy recovery for all involved, Seems like they were doing everything to be safe and it was just a accident that could've happend to anyone.