VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla.,None — A young pregnant woman was just weeks away from giving birth when she was killed in a boat crash. State officers are trying to gather more information about what made the two boats crash.
The crash killed the pregnant woman from DeLand and her unborn baby. It also killed her father. It happened Monday near Disappearing Island on the Intracoastal Waterway near Ponce Inlet.
The 11 other people involved in this crash all knew each other and they were all heading to Disappearing Island. It appears only at low tide and is an extremely popular place for boaters.
Before they got there, the two boats crashed, throwing people into the water. People on the shoreline and in the water called 911 seconds after the Memorial Day boat crash, desperate for help, but stuck in a place where help is not easy to get.
"She's cut really bad and we're trying to get to the Coast Guard station, but something's wrong with our boat," a caller told a 911 dispatcher.
"You were hit by another boat?"
"Yes, our boat was hit by another boat and the pregnant girl got thrown out of the boat and she's cut really bad and she's nine months pregnant. We need to get help right, right now."
Madison Holley, 19, didn't survive the crash and neither did her unborn child. Her father, Cy, also died.
Investigators and eyewitnesses told WFTV it appeared that as the two boats were heading for the island; a third boat was close and may have kicked up a wake that sent the 25-foot powerboat right up on top of the 18-foot powerboat, which all the victims were riding in.
No one has been charged or cited and investigators say they don't believe alcohol or drugs were involved.
The spot where the accidents happened is usually so crowded with boats on holidays that regular boaters say they just avoid it altogether. It's a spot where boats are allowed to speed up while other boats are anchoring, and people and animals are swimming on top of a shallow sandbar.
The boats involved were towed to Florida Fish and Wildlife in DeLand to be held as evidence.
Florida leads the nation in the number of boating deaths. Twenty-eight people had died in boating crashes in the state so far this year. That's up from 23 around this same time last year.
In 2009, drowning accounted for almost 70 percent of deaths; many of those victims knew how to swim but were not wearing life-jackets.
Previous Stories: June 1, 2010: Father, Pregnant Daughter Killed In Boat Crash
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