1 dead, another hurt in head-on airboat crash

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — One person was killed and another suffered traumatic injuries following a head-on collision involving two airboats Sunday, fire rescue crews said. One of the airboats caught fire and eventually sank, Indian River County Fire Chief David Johnson said.

The crash happened about 3:33 p.m. at Lake Garcia in the 3700 block of County Road 512 in unincorporated Fellsmere, a rural area that is not far from Garcia Boat Ramp. It was unclear who brought the patients back to Garcia Boat Ramp after the wreck.

One person went into cardiac arrest and was taken by ambulance to Sebastian River Medical Center, where doctors pronounced the patient dead, Johnson said. Another individual was flown to Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.

Johnson said three other people who were on the boats were not seriously injured. Genders and ages of those involved in the crash were not immediately available.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers were investigating the cause of the deadly wreck.

FWC spokesperson Chad Weber said an initial crash report will be completed within 24 hours. The full crash report will be finished within 30-to-60 days, Weber said.

No further details were immediately available.

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