Texas Boating Fatalities Were Up In 2007

AUSTIN, Texas—Texas boating fatalities for the first five months of 2007 were up over the previous three years, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department reports show. State game wardens say the increase underscores the need for boater education.

From Jan. 1 to May 31 of 2007, there were 64 boating accidents resulting in 23 fatalities and 33 injuries on Texas waters. That compares to 20 fatalities for the same period in 2006 and only 13 for the first five months of 2005.

“While some lakes are doing better than in recent years, the overall trend is not positive,” said Maj. Alfonso Campos, TPWD’s chief of marine safety enforcement. “In 2006, we had 47 fatalities. At the rate we are going, we may exceed 50 fatalities for the first time since 2002.

Heavy spring rains and swollen rivers have contributed to the grim count. On a single day in late May, two teenagers and a game warden who was searching for one of the missing teens drowned on the Paluxy and Brazos Rivers near Glen Rose.

Other incidents have involved intoxicated boat operators and boaters operating in a reckless manner or failing to keep a proper lookout.