Big Pine Key Youth Injured - Visitor Killed in Boating Accident

A collision between a personal watercraft and a 19-foot boat in North Pine Channel Sunday ended with the boater's death and an investigation into the cause the crash. According to officer Steve Acton of the Florid Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the collision occurred shortly after 7 p.m. in waters just off Big Pine Key. Acton said the shallow-water bass-type boat, driven by 41-year-old Harry Germain of Okeechobee, was traveling at a high rate of speed and struck the WaveRunner-type personal watercraft driven by 19-year-old Christopher Bouchard of Big Pine Key.

Both were ejected from the crafts, Acton said. When FWC officers arrived, Bouchard was found yelling for help in chest-deep water and Germain was found dead in the water. “The man in the boat died pretty much instantly,” Acton said. “They are always looking if alcohol was involved. They'll do the blood test and analysis and make sure it was, or it wasn't. That may take two to three weeks to get back.”

Officer David DiPre said Bouchard was apparently wearing the required life jacket, which may have helped save his life. “It's a miracle, but he's alive and he's not doing too badly,” DiPre said. “Usually in a Jet Ski accident, the Jet Ski operator is the one killed.”

Acton and DiPre said no charges against Bouchard have been filed, and the two vessels are being examined to determine how exactly the crash happened. Several residents also apparently witnessed the crash and are being questioned.