The St. Mary’s County boating community is shaken after a tragic accident at Point Lookout Marina on the Potomac River.
Just after 1 p.m. on Satuday, Aug. 2, a boat was docking at the marina in Ridge, Maryland, which is also home to Salt Waterfront Kitchen. Unfortunately, one of the boaters fell overboard while the vessel was still underway and was struck by the propeller.
Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police (NRP) spokesman Hunter Dortenzo says officers arrived to find a 71-year-old man with “severe injuries consistent with propeller strikes”. According to NRP, the Coast Guard was on scene to rescue the man from the marina waters. Ridge Volunteer Fire Department and EMS began life-saving attempts, performing CPR until the man was, sadly, pronounced dead.
A witness, who was dining at Salt, remarked on Facebook that along with those mentioned above, multiple first responders were poised to help within minutes, including those from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office, Maryland State Police Aviation, who had Helicopter 7 standing by, and Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
Natural Resources Police are investigating the accident and an autospy is being performed at the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore.
