BOCA RATON, Fla. — A group of seven had their fun cut short Saturday night when they said another boat struck theirs and then took off.
The family and friends who wish to remain anonymous for safety reasons, were traveling along the Intracoastal in Delray Beach. They said while looking at Christmas lights, they were slammed into.
"My husband started screaming, 'Kill the engines! Kill the engines!'" said the owner of the boat. "My fear... I'm about to cry right now ....I thought one of the kids had fallen in the water."
She said her daughter and her friends were standing right where the boat made impact just minutes before the crash. Her daughter, could barely comprehend what nearly happened to her, mainly just concerned for her father.
"All I remember, is just yelling, like, where's Dad?" the daughter said.
Her dad had been thrown to the ground and was bleeding. He needed to be taken to the hospital.
"He had a partial degloving of his pinky finger and a very substantial injury to his right bicep. My husband easily could have been killed," his wife said.
She believes the driver of the other boat was speeding and most likely hit them going upwards of 30 mph. One of the engines is now damaged, part of the stern is torn, and the front of their boat is scraped, resulting in nearly $80,000 worth of damage.
The family said, the person who hit them did stop briefly.
"We were screaming, no, we're not OK. We're not OK. And he proceeded to turn around and head south," the wife said.
They called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission who is now investigating.
"It looked like it was a center console with a light yellow hull, which is not a common color for a boat," the woman said and the family believes the other boat must have sustained some damage from the crash.
"I'm just so grateful," she said. "I know it could have been much more devastating."
Moving forward, they are hoping for more speed limit signs to be posted and hope boaters will take the water ways just as serious as they do the roads.
"It's just like being behind the wheel of a car, you have to have awareness," she said.
