2 Dead 1 injured after Boat Hits Dock in St. Augustine

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -

Two men are dead and a woman is in critical condition after a boat hit a dock in St. Augustine on Sunday night.

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The vessel was traveling south of the Bridge of Lions about 10 p.m. when it hit the dock connected to a home in the Pelican Reef neighborhood.

All three passengers were ejected into the water. Warren Hall and and Franklin Babb (pictured below on right), both 52, died in the crash. Alicia Babb (pictured below on left), 50, was critically injured.

Another boater was able to rescue Alicia Babb from the water, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Hall and Babb were recovered in the vicinity of the collision.

The three were returning to the Vilano Boat Ramp after a day of boating, officials said.

"He was my dad. I loved everything about him, everything," Frank Babb said Monday at the site of the crash. "He loved to fish. I wish he got to do more of it."

Pictured, right:
Alicia and Franklin Babb

"He loved this place and he's very well-known around town and loved helping people," said Danielle Rienks, Franklin Babb's daughter. "He would just break his back for people, and you couldn't ask for a better person, you really couldn't."

"He was an amazing father. He raised his children right by himself," added Lynn Rowland, Franklin Babb's sister. "He did a good job, he was a good man, he helped his friends, he lived life."

Babb, his wife, Alicia, and their friend Hall, who went by Chris, were out fishing Sunday and were on their way back.

"We certainly heard and felt the impact of him hitting the dock," said Jack Williams, who lives in Pelican Reef two doors down from the dock the 16-foot motorboat ran into. "The boat actually flew up over the dock and then dumped them all into the water. The fisherman saved the lady's life, there's no question about that."

That nearby fisherman saw the crash, pulled up his anchor, drove over and saved Alicia Babb.

Franklin Babb and their friend Hall, both born on the same day, didn't make it.

Williams ran out to his dock and saw a sneaker floating in the water.

"The next thing I knew, almost underneath my dock there was a body, a man's body in the water that was floating and coming by fairly fast," he said.

8-year-old Pennsylvania girl killed in Putnam boating accident

An 8-year-old at a family reunion in Putnam County was killed Friday when the boat she was in lurched under a dock while she was sitting in a seat in the front of the boat. At the end of a St. Johns River boat ride around 6 p.m., the driver missed an attempt to maneuver onto a boat lift then on a second approach the 23-foot bowrider lurched ahead and under the dock. Olivia Wade, of Springdale, PA, was sitting in the seat and hit the dock. She was taken to Putnam Community Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. The accident happened in the 400 block of West River Road north of Palatka. Among six at the reunion, three were from Pennsylvania and three were from Jacksonville, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Federation. Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2012-03-25/story/8-year-old-pennsylvania-girl-killed-putnam-boating-accident#ixzz1qAT302H6

Man critically injured in Boating Accident

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Palm Valley Boat Accident

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Driver of boat gives his account

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This article indicates that the investigation into the fatal Jacksonville boating accident is still under investigation. This case will likely be under investigation for years by governmental agencies and in discovery in the lawsuits. There has been a lot of comment and judging of the facts in the press and on the blogs. It is hard to piece one of these together only based on what one reads or hears in the press and blogs. The facts and conclusions will come out over time with diligent investigation. Dwayne

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Re-posted by Jacksonville Florida Maritime Lawyers / Clark & Watson PA

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