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Posted by }<)))*> StriperChaser on September 15, 2005, 9:57 pm Boating lost a big chunk of its innocence on the Officials of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Officials say alcohol, prescription drugs and excessive Twenty-thousand acre Smith Mountain Lake already had “Something needs to be done,” has been the battle But what? Last week about 300 people, mostly lake residents, The Smith Mountain Lake Association has created a Water Safety Task Force to Link: Read the Article
4.154.31.126
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Don't let emotions and rage lead to bad
boating laws
By Bill Cochran
ROANOKE.COM COLUMNIST
terrible night of Aug. 20 when a 38-foot,
high-performance craft slammed into a cabin cruiser in
the darkness of a Smith Mountain Lake Saturday night.
The two, highly regarded occupants of the cruiser
were killed and the sport of boating was dealt a
crippling blow.
Fisheries say the Donzi 38ZR high-performance boat,
powered by two engines each capable of 500-hp, struck
the cabin cruiser from behind at more than 60 mph.
The Donzi, according to DGIF officials, was driven by a
45-year old marina owner who has been charged with
two counts of manslaughter.
speed are considered to be factors in the collision.
Just over a year ago, the high-performance driver was
convicted of reckless operation of a motorboat and
attempting to elude authorities.
the reputation of being the most dangerous place in
the state to boat, accounting for nearly 38-percent of
all of Virginia’s boating accidents. This crash thrust the
lake’s boating fraternity into turmoil, in some cases
pitting boater against boater.
cry.
squeezed into a church near the lake to talk with DGIF
officials and state legislators about what one boater
described as a “Wake-up call.”
study safety issues and work with DGIF and legislators. Its members include highly
qualified people with admirable records of service, but the group needs to also
include some younger people and transit boaters who live off the lake. Lakeshore
residents have to be careful not to flaunt the attitude that just because they own
a high-priced house at the lake’s edge that they own the lake and can decide how
it is to be used.
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