Jose E. Garcia, 41, of Minneapolis, drowned after falling out of his boat on Lake Minnewashta in Chanhassen, Minn. A "good Samaritan" pulled his from the lake after a 911 caller alerted authorities that a man had fallen overboard.
Carver County Sheriff's deputies arrived at a public dock area to find Garcia's boat circling the water with Garcia’s daughter and her friend on board. The small girls were brought safely to shore.
Also on Saturday, retired St. Paul deputy fire chief Timothy Verros, 56, of Aitkin, Minn., died after a 17-foot Lund Runabout he was driving collided with an 18-foot Crestliner on Lake Mille Lacs, several hundred yards offshore of the north-central Minnesota lake.
The passenger in Verros' boat was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. The four people in the other boat suffered minor injuries and were not taken to the hospital.
The Aitkin County sheriff says alcohol was not a factor - nor was excessive speed. One or both operators simply failed to see the other in the dark.
The Aitkin County sheriff's office said the operators of both boats were returning to shore after fishing. Both boats had bow and stern lights on at the time of the collision, as required by both state and federal law.
Kim Elverum, the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resouces Water Safety Coordinator, in an interview with KARE-TV explained the lights are not so the boat driver can see, but be seen, "When you're boating you basically have to rely on your night vision," he said. "It's much like flying an airplane. You don't rely on the landing lights until your ready to land."
Police reports say the former deputy fire chief was wearing his life jacket when he died.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed a bill into law last month that requires children under 10 years of age to wear a life jacket while boating on state waters. That makes Minnesota the 41st state to pass such a law requiring children on boats to wear personal floatation devices.
Current Minnesota law requires readily accessible flotation devices for everyone on board, but it didn't state that the life jackets must be worn until now.
A first violation will initially result in only a warning, but after May 1, 2006, there will be no warnings given and the penalty will be a petty misdemeanor.
Known as the Grant Allen Law, it is named after a five-year-old boy who drowned when he fell from a boat on a Chisago County lake in 2003. He was not wearing a life jacket.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is composed of uniformed, non-military volunteer civilians who assist the Coast Guard in all of its varied missions, except for military and direct law enforcement. These men and women can be found on the nation's waterways, in the air, in classrooms and on the dock, performing Maritime Domain Awareness patrols, safety patrols, vessel safety checks and public education.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary was founded in 1939 by an Act of Congress as the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve and re-designated as the Auxiliary in 1941. Its 30,000 members donate millions of hours annually in support of Coast Guard missions.
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