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Boating accident leaves one dead, three injured

Two men and two women, all from Tarpon Springs, were in a 14-foot aluminum boat when it ran under a dock across from the Sponge Docks.

By ROBIN STEIN
Published November 19, 2005

[Times photos: Scott Keeler]

One passenger from this 14-foot boat was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission was still trying to determine the cause of the accident Friday afternoon.

	[AP photo]
	Yellow investigation tape marks the spot where an aluminum boat hit a private dock on the Anclote River just before midnight Thursday. The mark in the sand at the lower right was left by the boat's outboard engine. The owners of the dock said they awoke to a woman's screams.

TARPON SPRINGS - A Tarpon Springs man died and three people were injured in a boating accident on the Anclote River late Thursday night, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Two women and two men, all from Tarpon Springs, were in a 14-foot aluminum boat when it veered out of the channel onto the mud flats and ran under a well-lit dock across from the Sponge Docks just before midnight, authorities said.

A passenger, Robin Raihan, 50, of Tarpon Springs was pronounced dead at the scene, a state investigator said.

The boat's operator, 22-year-old Matthew Aime; his sister, Amanda Aime, 20; and Cassandra Stuttle, 26, were injured.

The cause of the accident was still under investigation Friday afternoon, though "alcohol may have been involved," said wildlife commission spokesman Gary Morse.

Haven Chrysakis, who owns the house and the dock at 1141 Marina Drive, where the accident took place, said she was awakened just before midnight by the sound of a woman's screams coming from her back yard.

"I was in a dead sleep," said her husband, Emmanuel Chrysakis. "I heard someone beating on the door. She kept on screaming: "They're dying! Help me! Help me! They're dying!"'

The woman, who said she was pregnant, was soaking wet from dragging an unconscious man onto the mangroves, the couple said. The other two occupants walked around to the front of the house, Emmanuel Chrysakis said.

One of the women was flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, and the surviving man was taken to Helen Ellis Memorial Hospital in Tarpon Springs. Their conditions were not available Friday evening.

The accident took place in an idle speed zone near Marker 49 in the Anclote River. But propeller marks in the mud indicated that the boat was going faster than that, though it had not been determined how fast the boat was going, said fish and game officer Donnie Jones.

The boat, which had a 25-horsepower engine, would have had a maximum speed of between 20 and 30 mph, Jones said.

A piece of nylon fabric was wound around the boat's propeller.

The point where the boat ran under the dock was about 30 feet outside the channel in the river.

The dock was lit with several lanterns at the time of the accident, Mrs. Chrysakis said.

Times researchers Angie Drobnic Holan and Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 19, 2005, 01:25:41]