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Waterways scenes of tragedies

At least two boaters died Monday. In addition, a man's body washed ashore and a child almost drowned.

By JORGE SANCHEZ and JANETTE NEUWAHL
Published July 6, 2004

	[Times photo: Stephen J. Coddington]
	An investigator looks over a Kawasaki Jet Ski that was involved in a fatal accident on the Homosassa River on Monday afternoon. An 8-year-old girl was killed, and a man was in critical condition.
	10 News video: 14-year-old boy drowns off Sand Key Park 3 hurt as homemade explosive ignites Projectile hits woman at Vinoy on Fourth For sisters, same pool, same tragic end

An 8-year-old girl riding a water scooter was killed Monday when it collided with a pontoon boat on the Homosassa River in Citrus County.

A man riding with the child on the Kawasaki was clinging to life late Monday at Tampa General Hospital, investigators said.

The accident was one of several water-related fatalities that marred the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

In Clearwater, a 14-year-old boy drowned Monday after he got entangled in an anchor line off Sand Key Park. In St. Pete Beach, investigators pulled an unidentified man from the Gulf of Mexico. And a 2-year-old girl nearly drowned in her grandparents' pool in a neighborhood west of the St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport. She is in critical condition.

"These are personal tragedies and our hearts go out to the families who have suffered," said Gary Morse, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The first accident happened at 10 a.m. off Sand Key Beach in Clearwater.

Christopher Hidalgo, 14, whose mother lives in Brooksville, came to Belleair Beach for a snorkeling trip with his father, Wayne Hidalgo.

The two had gone out early Monday in Hidalgo's boat for a dive in the gulf. At one point, they decided to pull up anchor but discovered it was caught up in rocks near Clearwater Pass, about 10 feet down.

Christopher, wearing swim trunks and a T-shirt, dove in to free the anchor but became entangled in its braided nylon rope, said Clearwater Assistant Fire Chief Joel Gray.

The father realized his son was not coming up and he tried to help him, Gray said.

"He had actually pulled him and the anchor up to the water level" and cut the line, Gray said.

"When he cut the line, he lost hold of the rope," Gray said. "He could see him in the water, but the loose rope allowed the strong current to carry the boy and anchor along."

Gray said currents in the area can be 4- to 5-knots, and the father made several efforts to grab his son.

"There's a bad current where they were because of the channel going into the open gulf," he said. "That played a big part in the recovery efforts."

Rescue crews freed Christopher Hidalgo after 20 minutes. He was transported to Largo Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Several hours later, at 3:43 p.m. on St. Pete Beach in Pinellas County, two men fishing for snook behind the Don CeSar Beach House saw a man floating face down in the water.

At first, the fishermen thought the man was snorkeling. They called out to two people on water scooters to check on him.

"They jumped off and brought him to shore," said Stuart Pyles, 45, who rents cabanas on the beach.

Beachgoers said the man had a cut on his forehead and appeared to have been dead for several hours.

St. Pete Beach police Sgt. Dean Horianopoulos said the man, who was black and appeared to be in his mid 20s, had not been identified and was not carrying a wallet. Police are investigating the incident as a possible drowning but have not ruled out foul play, he said.

Later Monday, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was trying to piece together the fatal Jet Ski crash on the Homosassa River.

An 8-year-old girl who was a passenger on the Jet Ski was killed when it slammed into a pontoon boat about 5 p.m.

A man was rescued by a boater and brought to a nearby tiki bar in critical condition with severe cuts on his arms and legs. The man was not breathing and was taken by helicopter to Tampa General Hospital.

Neither the man nor the girl had been identified late Monday.

In another water accident, a 2-year-old girl was in critical condition at All Children's Hospital after she nearly drowned in her grandparents' pool in the High Point area of Pinellas County. High Point is west of St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.

Elysia Greer was visiting her grandparents on Sunset Street with her mother and 6-year-old sister.

The family was swimming at 5 p.m. Monday when the mother, Stacie Greer, got out of the pool to pack up the car. When she returned to the pool, she asked for Elysia. She was found at the bottom of the pool.

"There appears to have been a miscommunication between the adults as to who was supposed to watch the child," said Marianne Pasha, spokeswoman for the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Pasha said investigators do not know how long the girl was underwater.

On Sunday, a Lakeland girl died in an accidental drowning.

Keara Sherlock, 7, was swimming with other children at a Myrtle Hill Drive home pool and was found at the bottom of the pool.

- Staff writer Leanora Minai contributed to this report, which also included information from the Associated Press.

[Last modified July 5, 2004, 23:26:10]