Between midnight and 1230a.m. this date, a pontoon vessel  struck the pier.  The operator stated that he was "messing with his radio" at the time of the collision and did not realize he had gotten that far over.  The pier is located on the right hand side of Rabbit Branch coming in from the main channel.  Operator was attempting to return home and stated that he had only been operating for 1 hr. prior to the collision.  He further stated that he left the scene and did not return until the next morning, because it was too late to call anyone.
Pell City                     