A youngster was a victim of a hit-and-run while diving with his father near the Courtney Campbell Parkway.
By TAMARA LUSH
Published August 26, 2003
TAMPA - Troy Doane surfaced in the water Sunday afternoon just in time to hear the roar of a water scooter engine.
His 9-year-old son, Cherokee, was at his side. Doane tried to grab the boy, to keep him under water until the machine sped past.
"It was bearing down on us," Doane said.
It didn't veer away. And Doane couldn't keep his son submerged. The watercraft struck.
Shaken, but unhurt, Doane could see that there were actually three men on three scooters near him.
His son was bleeding but conscious. The beach and the Courtney Campbell Parkway were nearby. Doane asked for help.
"Hey, I'm sorry!" Doane recalls one of the riders yelling.
Another, older man riding one of the machines yelled something back: "Get the hell out of here!"
Two of the scooters sped away. Doane grabbed his son and a handle on the third machine. He begged the man to pull them ashore.
The man did, then sped off without giving any information. Doane's wife and other son were on shore, incredulous.
"I can't believe how rude and unconcerned they were," said Doane.
"I thought he was dead," said Michelle Doane.
Cherokee was rushed to Tampa General Hospital, where he received six stitches in his scalp.
Doane, 33, said he and his family usually go into the waters off the Courtney Campbell to snorkel and dive. Cherokee, who learned to swim when he was a toddler, loves to dive for blue crabs.
On Sunday, father and son took a large, yellow surfboard into the water. Doane said he attached an anchor to the surfboard, so they would have a reference point when diving.
Doane also thought the surfboard would keep boaters from running them over.
"It's bright yellow," Doane said. "It's so colorful."
Tampa police are investigating the hit-and-run crash, and a spokesman said they have made no arrests.
In 2001, 10 people died in crashes involving personal watercraft in Florida. There were 309 total crashes in the state that year.
The Doanes are unsure when they will dive again.
"It's going to be a little while," said Troy Doane. "I don't know if we will ever go in that same area again."
Anyone who has information about the men on the three water scooters should call Tampa Police at 276-3200 or CrimeStoppers at (800) 873-TIPS. The Doane family said the one that hit the boy was red and white.
- Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Tamara Lush can be reached at 226-3373 or lush@sptimes.com
