Sarasota man dies in Gulf boating accident
By Lisa Neff. Islander Reporter
A Sarasota man died Nov. 25 in a boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico near Longboat Pass.
Authorities on Monday continued to investigate the accident that took the life of Henry Ogden, 49, of the 5000 block of Bentgrass Drive in Sarasota. Ogden owned a taxicab company.
Ogden, according to the Florida Fish & Wildlife law enforcement division, was thrown from the bow of a 42-foot yacht, was run over by the boat and possibly struck by a propeller.
Eight people had been aboard the yacht in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico at about 4 p.m. Sunday, when the accident occurred.
The boat, according to Lt. Jon Dobbs of Florida Fish & Wildlife, apparently was jumping or navigating boat wakes when Ogden went overboard.
Another Fish and Wildlife spokesperson, Gary Morse, said Ogden suffered severe lacerations in the accident.
Longboat Key police pulled Ogden from the water, taking him to shore at Leffis Key, which is on the bay side of Bradenton Beach.
There, emergency personnel tried to revive the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Morse said the investigation involved interviewing witnesses, examining the boat for damage and, as is routine, conducting a alcohol test on the boat’s driver, who at press time had not been identified.
This year, more than 60 people have died in boating accidents in the state.
Boating accidents in 2006 resulted in 69 deaths in Florida, according to Fish & Wildlife. That’s the highest number of boating fatalities in the nation. In 15 of the fatal accidents, people fell overboard. |
