On July 16, 2023, at approximately 3:34 P.M., I, State Game Warden, received a call from the Newton County Sheriff's Office about a boat accident on the Sabine River north of State Highway 63E. I was then contacted by Burkeville VFD Fire Chief, stating he was on scene via land with a victim of the accident. Chief advised that I didn’t need to bring a boat and would be able to get to the location by vehicle. I responded to the scene of the accident by accessing the Sabine ATV Park and driving onto the sandbar of the river. The Newton County Sheriff’s Office, Burkeville VFD first responders, Allegiance Ambulance Service, and multiple family members of those involved in the accident were all on scene. 

Upon my arrival, I was immediately met by Chief who notified me of a deceased person on the sandbar who was a victim of the boat accident. Chief provided me with the information he had about the accident and victim.  I was then met by the responding paramedic who informed me of the extent of the victim’s injuries and provided me with a copy of the ECG print out. He then directed me to a man sitting on the sandbar who was involved in the accident. I contacted the man sitting on the sandbar. I interviewed individual regarding the events that had taken place and who was involved. After speaking with him, I determined he was the operator of the boat at the time of the accident as well as the owner of the vessel. He stated the occupants included: himself; his nephew and victim; a second nephew, identified; and his niece, identified. siblings and were all present on scene. I interviewed every occupant, excluding the victim, individually to obtain everyone’s account of the events that had occurred resulting in the boat accident. I examined the scene of the accident, including the boat, motor, and the contents. A visual examination was conducted and his sustained injuries. All information was documented with photographs taken.

My investigation indicated this incident involved a single outboard vessel (“Vessel 1”), three males and one female, with good clear weather conditions. There was no indication of alcohol or drugs as contributing factors to the incident. The boat contained all the necessary water safety equipment required by law to include a PFD for all the occupants. The purpose of the boating trip was to recover a boat motor the victim lost in the river the day before. The following is the sequence of events that occurred prior to and during the incident:

At approximately 3:00 P.M., all were headed north on the Sabine River in an area known as Scoggin’s Bend. They were traveling in 15’ AlumaCraft boat equipped with a 25 hp tiller drive motor. Operator was the operator and was sitting on the starboard side of the back bench seat of the boat. Occupant was sitting next to him on the port side. Another occupant was sitting on an ice chest in the middle of the boat while another was sitting on the deck of the boat located at the bow. As they approached the bend in the river, Operator put the boat in full throttled to get on plane to lift the lower unit of the motor higher in the water. He did this because he knew the area was shallow and wanted to keep from hitting submerged stumps, debris, or dragging the bottom of the river. Occupant directed Operator to hug the sandbar side of the river thinking there were less stumps. At this time, the boat motor struck a submerged stump causing the motor to jackknife up and over the transom, breaking completely off the transom, resulting in the propeller fatally striking Occupant in the head. According to Operator, the motor landed inside the boat and continued to run with the propeller spinning. he picked the motor up and threw it into the river. He stated he was wearing the lanyard to the cut-off switch of the motor, but it didn’t stop the motor until he threw it into the river. At this time, according to all involved, Deceased was leaning against the gunwale of the boat and eventually fell over into the water. Upon seeing him fall in the water, Operator jumped in the water, recovered him, and took him to the bank of the river where he began CPR.

As noted above, Deceased was fatally struck by the boat motor propeller resulting in deep lacerations beginning at the back of his head, along his upper back, on back of his right arm, and on the back of his right leg. An inquest was performed.  

Note: Upon inspection of the boat and motor, the motor was clearly bolted down onto transom. The cast iron mounting bracket broke upon impact causing the motor to completely come off the transom. The bolts and pieces of the mounting bracket remained attached to the transom.
1512 SABINE RIVER
BURKEVILLE                    