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GENEVA - A 7-year-old Georgia boy died Friday after being run over by an airboat that struck a sandbar in the St. Johns River, authorities said.

Vincent Rutowski was riding with other family members in the airboat, operated by Central Florida AirBoat Tours, when it struck the sandbar, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokeswoman Joy Hill.

"The operator was accelerating to move the boat off the sandbar, and it caused the people to pitch forward and pitched Vincent right out of the boat," Hill said. He was run over.

Geneva is about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.

Snorkeler needs stitches for gator bite

APOPKA - An Apopka man received 33 stitches in his head after a 3- to 4-foot alligator bit him while he was snorkeling, officials said.

Michael A. Diaz Jr., 30, was snorkeling in Rock Springs Run in Kelly Park Thursday when he was attacked, said Kat Kelley, spokeswoman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The swimming area was closed.

Ex-death row inmate seeks $2-million

MIAMI - A former Florida death row inmate who was freed in 1989 after a new investigation showed he was wrongly convicted of killing his seven children is seeking $2-million compensation from the state for his two decades behind bars.

Attorney Ellis Rubin said Friday he is seeking a sponsor for a special relief bill in next year's Legislature for James Richardson, 70, who is in ill health and living with friends in the Midwest.

Richardson was exonerated in 1989 after a new investigation by Janet Reno, then chief prosecutor in Dade County. A babysitter confessed to the crime.

FHP: School gave licenses, no training

ORLANDO - Two officials of an Orange County trucking school were arrested after an investigation revealed that they potentially put thousands of commercial truck drivers on the road with little or no training, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

C&L Solutions president Victor M. Cosme-Burgos, 59, of Orlando, and manager Robson L. Coco, 43, of Winter Park, were charged Thursday with defrauding students who sought licenses to drive trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles.

[Last modified June 10, 2006, 07:35:24]