Looks like two boats collided in front of SRA point an hour or so ago.

Prayers sent to all involved.

Yikes!......really hope that no one was hurt seriously, hard to escape a collision with no injuries

Prayers! So many people out there.

SRA point?

Good Lord how in the Sam hill does this happen especially in that area? It is all wide open down there. Hope all is well.

James Caldemeyer posted on his Facebook page that one of the boats left the scene. Hopefully they find them!

prayers sent

Read on same page that the same boat actually went to shore and called for help for the other boat.

Prayers sent

Seen these on FB

That'll buff right out

I bet the lake wasn't vary crowded like yesterday? Lifting up those involvded.

Oh man.... I hope everyone is okay.

Rough hit. From behind? Prayers.

On East side north of the dam

Was this in broad daylight or was it in the fog this morning?

A well known Guide was neared the boat accident and seen the other boat leave the scene but not go too far away, They said he called 911. The guide stopped to render aid, he helped get the boat to SRA shoreline where the picnic areas are at and authorities were there to help. The guide said two teenagers were also in the boat and were very shook up and the driver was airlifted to Tyler hospital, not sure of how severe his injuries are, but we all are asking for prayers. Not really sure what happened and how the wreck happened but I'm sure we will get the rest of the story. I hope you all pray for all who are involved. [img]https://texasfishingforum.com/forums/pics/usergals/2017/05/full-55796-163437-img_4530.png[/img]

Daylight

Was told they went to marina and called 911.. probably should've stayed and rendered help. But we really don't know what was going on in the other boat, I'm sure we will find out soon.

Air-lifted to Tyler. Not a good sign.

Caldemeyer needs to edit his FB post if the other boat did not in fact flee the scene.

He changed it to left the scene

Caldemeyer said when he drove up the teenagers said the other boat left after they hit them. Later on in the FB Post it said the other boat went to marina and called 911. We will all know soon why they left. Good job James on helping the boater & kids.

I don't understand why the one lady kept coming down on the capt for posting facts.

Going from the scene of the accident to a marina 1 mile away is "fleeing" the scene even if you are going to get help.

Before leaving the scene he should have made sure everyone was okay, there wasn't anything he could do to immediately assist, and to make sure the other boat was sea worthy.

Also should have notified other boat involved of his intentions.

Prayers for all that no one is seriously injured.

Hard to believe the guy who left the scene didn't have a cell phone

I hope everyone is going to be okay. Prayers sent to all involved.

You gotta remember not everyone thinks well under pressure or duress. People are wired differently and from the impact they themselves may have been knocked a little loopy too.

Instead of second guessing the other boat involved. Try and think of ways that you can make boating safer. Mark hit the nail on the head. "not everyone thinks well under pressure or duress". Basically, boaters should work on driving defensive. Let LEO's sort this out. Everyone else, should pray that all involved live to see their loved ones.

Well said

My cell service doesn't cover 100% of Fork.

Mine either. Hard to brag with pics when can't send them much less call 911!

My wife and I were there Saturday and the haze made it very hard to navigate the boat lanes. It was very weird. We were going to fish Sat, Sun and Monday and only fished a few hours on Saturday. There were not a lot of boats on the water Sat and Sunday that we could tell. Strange weekend.

Amazed something like this happened today.

let it go, still get lawyers contacting me from a former Fork accident

learn proper navigation protocols, look where you are going, slow down + stay alert when near other boats.

Was there since daylight. Weather wasn't the issue.

I am curious to find out the details on how it happened, if they ever come out.

Unless someone is rapidly dying from something you are trained to assist with, in most cases the best thing you can do is call 911 first. Obviously you should check on everyone's status to get a feel for the type of injuries, but after that if their cell phones were ejected or not working, the best thing might well have been to go to the nearest marina to call for help.

Any updates on the man they care flighted to Tyler?

Cody posted on James' FB page that the driver care flighted to Tyler is expected to make full recovery but, will be held for a few days
for observation due to the head trauma.

I am amazed this doesn't happen more often everybody thinks they need to go 70+ to get to the next spot

This is great news, could have been real bad. You can replace a boat.

What I am constantly amazed by is all the nimrods on Fork who haven't a clue about navigating in a crowd. I was there Friday through yesterday and, as always, saw it all. The most common errors I see are folks running the wrong side of the buoys, not knowing which way to yield when meeting a boat head on, not knowing when to yield to another boat approaching from port or starboard, not knowing how to safely overtake another boat and not checking their six BEFORE executing a turn or slowing down.

As someone stated earlier, you better be driving defensively these days, especially on Fork.

I hope those involved in this accident will all be ok.

That's a big, wide open area. They must have been haulin'


prayers up.

Exactly why they need to establish speed limits on lakes. I hate going when crowded because you never know when the idiots running g speed don't know what they are doing and they aren't just riding their lives they are risking ours

Very few of the people I saw making boneheaded boating mistakes this weekend were going more than 70 mph. In fact, most were probably traveling 25-50 mph. Speed limits on lakes won't help nearly as much as boater education, some common sense, life jackets and kill switches. Mandatory life jackets being worn while underway would save a ton more lives than speed limits.

That was an awful accident, David you showed a lot of courage in that ordeal..
Prayers for all involved.....

hard as it is to say a LOT of people nowdays need some type of boater/boat driving training. Hell you have complete a-holes in boats doing 70+ mph and they dont have a clue about driving on water.

Whats really scary is half the people i see guilty of the above have young kids on tubes in tow.

Have seen so many people decide to turn around as im passing them and cut right in front of me with kids in tow.

They love to hug the left side of the lake and the inside of blind curves.

I posted a link earlier this spring, but always a good idea to go ahead and take the free boater safety course to brush up on the rules of the water. It certainly can't hurt! Pass it on to all you know, if people act like they know it and don't need to take it, challenge them to take it and see how many they get it wrong.... we can sit here all day long and talk about the way things should have been handled, or we can search for a way to inform others to ensure that it doesn't continue to happen. Prayers for a speedy recovery to all involved.

https://www.boatus.org/texas/

I drive fork like everyone else is a 5 yr old that stole daddys car.

3 weeks or so back some nimrod came out of white oak at about 30 and cut me off as I was coming to the 515 bridge. I was running about 65 in the lane and this idiot just comes on out, I passed them less than 5' off their stern. the passenger had the moronic idea to flip me off.

first time I have ever gone back, he got a quick lesson in how the law works on yielding and who has to yield to who.

and NO speed limits are not the solution, how many boat speedometers actually work and are right? not everyone has gps.

I will add this too, don't bad mouth the people that left to get help.

if you don't know first aid then you go call 911 you don't try to render aid if you have not a clue what you are doing. that is how people die.

if they waited for leo/ambulance or went back then they did right. we may never know the real reason but it sounds like they knew someone needed more than they could offer.

I couldn't agree more.
"Anyone born on or after September 1, 1993 wishing to operate any vessel over 15 horsepower, wind-blown vessel over 14 feet and all personal watercraft must take boater education."

Above is hands down the dumbest sentence in the TPWD handbook I have ever seen. I took my boater's education as a young kid. If I remember correctly, at the time the requirement was for anyone under 16 to take the course. Per current laws, anybody who is currently 23 or younger(and counting) must have a card. I think every person should be required to take boater education and have a boaters license to operate a vessel.In 20 years, if a 43 year old man buys his first boat, he will have to take boaters ed and get a card. Why shouldn't 43 year olds now have to take the course? I see no difference in the need of a boaters license and a drivers license for all people behind the wheel. It doesn't take that long or cost that much to take the course and get the license. Everybody would be safer and more knowledgable that way.

I couldn't agree more.
"Anyone born on or after September 1, 1993 wishing to operate any vessel over 15 horsepower, wind-blown vessel over 14 feet and all personal watercraft must take boater education."

Above is hands down the dumbest sentence in the TPWD handbook I have ever seen. I took my boater's education as a young kid. If I remember correctly, at the time the requirement was for anyone under 16 to take the course. Per current laws, anybody who is currently 23 or younger(and counting) must have a card. I think every person should be required to take boater education and have a boaters license to operate a vessel.In 20 years, if a 43 year old man buys his first boat, he will have to take boaters ed and get a card. Why shouldn't 43 year olds now have to take the course? I see no difference in the need of a boaters license and a drivers license for all people behind the wheel. It doesn't take that long or cost that much to take the course and get the license. Everybody would be safer and more knowledgable that way. [/quote]

So with this logic, a driver's license prevents auto accidents?

So with this logic, a driver's license prevents auto accidents?
[/quote] it would have to prevent many yes or would it be best that no one ever had any training to get a drivers license? Plus boats and very fast boats on the water are a total different thing than a vehicle.

There should be a sticky with a link to the boaters safety course.i owned a boat for 2 years before I took one

I grew up around boats thanks to my papa. He taught me more than boater safety, he taught me how to respect the water. Prayers up for all involved- it will surely haunt their minds for a long time.

IMO, best post of 'em all!!!

"How to respect the water"...A lot of substance in those 5 words.

My son is 14 so is this the boater course he takes so he can drive the boat? Thank it is the right course

Wrong side of the buoys????

They aren't a white line highway stripe and some put you in or way close to timber if you stay on the "right" side at certain water levels.

Its thinking the rules on the highway supersede the nautical rules where the problem starts. Like when guys cut left in front of oncoming boats to stay right on top of the buoys on the "right" side. The buoys are just general guides where open lanes to run "may" exist as the buoys do and have moved over time.

I hope all are doing well and prayers out for quick recovery to the injured gentleman.

So with this logic, a driver's license prevents auto accidents?
[/quote]

Give me a break, you can't be serious. No a driver's license itself doesn't prevent accidents but the things you must learn to get that driver's license sure can prevent accidents. I don't see how anybody could argue that point. Many boating accidents are caused by people not knowing who is the give-way vessel or other basic skills that are taught in boater's education courses. I'm in no way saying that boater's ed could've prevented this accident because I wasn't there and I have no idea what exactly happened. For all I know they could've both been Boater Ed Certified and just not seen one another. I have, however witnessed a couple accidents that could've been prevented by basic knowledge that people would learn if Boater's Ed was a requirement. I see no reason why Boater's Ed would be different than Driver's Ed.

Sound like either drugs or alchohol was involved.

Any charges?

It looks to me like he was hit from behind. Can anyone confirm?

The folks I'm talking about are out on the main lake. Those buoys are intended to be run just like the highway, stay to the right. I'm aware of some places in creeks and such where the buoys would put you in the timber, like the ones in Little Mustang and Williams. That's not what I'm referring to. I'm talking about straight line on the main lake.

Fouzman don't know if your just running the "main lake buoys" but, a lot! Of those bouys are pretty far off
as far as the gps boat lanes chip shows, so I wouldn't be banking on that theory. I really think it comes down to keeping your head on a swivel and watching out way ahead of where your going. I'm lucky enough to live
on Fork and just Monday guy hammer down under 515w bridge, as we've all witnessed just amazing there are not more accidents than there is.

I've been running the lake since long before the buoys were put out. And I have the boatlanes chip for an added measure of safety.

The folks running the "wrong" side of the buoys are probably following the boat lanes chip and driving where the buoys are supposed to be, not where they have drifted to.

I drive a boat with the mindset similar to driving a motorcycle on the street. No one can see you and its your job to avoid trouble.

Here's the Texas Boater Safety Course.

Where did you hear drugs or alcohol were involved?

Where I'm from you need to get a boater's license to drive one, which means you get an opportunity to learn the rules of engagement and all on the water. In Texas, well.. what do you expect?!?!

And to make it worse, we have abunch of people here complaining about others not knowing how to drive properly and yet to actually list the proper way to deal with those situations. And they think they are better for that?

Each one teach one.
stay safe

Smart, I do the same.

I have only followed story on the TFF. From what I remember SRA is basically open water. If two boats collided on open water on a clear day it seems that some type of impairment could be the issue.

I run the lake all the time. I run a lot in places that are unmarked as well. But I always run with my head on a swivel, watching others around me. But there are a lot of idiots out there lately. And I honestly don't know how this happened in that open of water unless he was hot on his heels.
But either way, prayers for both parties involved. I hope the guy makes a full recovery, which it sounds like he will. And I hope the guys that did it, if anything, learned a valuable lesson out of this. It could have been way, way worse!

Bouys on Fork allow plenty of room on either side at all water levels,unless they have broken free and drift off. Definitely should treat them as a highway center line!

Does anyone know how this happened?

I think it would work a little better if you had to take a safety course in person and physically drive a boat with someone to certify you.

Hope all works out!

Ya know what happens when you Assume.....

Don't know if these boating rules apply to this accident or not but since the boat was damaged on the starboard back and side it could.

" Each boat should turn to starboard and pass port-to-port. When overtaking another boat the boat being overtaken is the privileged vessel. Only after signaling and receiving an acknowledgement can the overtaking boat pass. ( Use one blast to pass on the right and two blast to pass on the left )
I have never seen or heard of a passing boat signaling to pass and this happens a lot on Fork.

The first sentence applies to boats coming from opposite directions.

Either someone was too old driving, too young, too drunk, too medicated, etc. Two boats just don't collide on open water in clear day unless something was out of whack.

Somebody screwed the pooch here.

Everyone here is certified in all matters!!! Didn't get through a page and a half of expertism before giving up. I pray everyone involved is ok.

Maybe he was middle aged and illiterate too, who knows, just hope everyone is ok. Far as a safety course goes it might help but look at these people driving cars, they take a driving test and some of them still can't drive.

dont know any details but looks like it was hit from the rear, almost like one boat was following the other and the front boat killed the power and the rear boat didnt react quick enough, but just speculation.

It seems most people that I notice on the wrong side of the main lake buoys are almost always looking at their electronics and their route markers. Their screens shows the path they made going and they run same path coming. So that puts them on the wrong side sooner or later.

Just what I notice.....As far as the wreck, we all need to be more careful so many boaters so few routes. God bless James C. being in the right spot...

That's my thinking...if the hit boat slowed a boat following too close will have a hard time getting out of the wake..ain't no brakes on a boat and steering sucks when you're off the throttle. My head is on a swivel anytime I go to change course or slow down on a lake. Too many people run your wake these days.

does anybody have an update on the condition of the people that were injured??

Do some of ya'll really have that many issues running on Fork on normal days? Other than big bass events I can't say I really have any boat lane issues or craziness out here. I'm here a lot. I find more on the water stupidity on DFW area lakes by far.

No and you described it to a T.

I've only been to fork once... Only time I've ran boat lanes. So what is the right and wrong side of the buoys to run?

and if the bouys are way off should the SRA re-position them to where they are suppose to be for safety issues.

I think they are saying stay to the right.

Do you feel this is actually an error? I feel that guys running $50,000+ bass boats on Fork must know which side of the buoys to run on, but they choose to drive wherever they want. I could be wrong and have thought about turning around and asking some folks but have a feeling how that might turn out.

sounds like was older man out with his grand kids and I dont care who you are and what your boat cost everyone even if an a hole deserves respect on the water.

I know I plan to be very defensive and observant in driving on Fork for the upcoming Skeeter Owners. I'm being taken outta my element for this tourney. I like nice, quiet weekdays to go fishing. Gonna spread and my wings and crash in this one...I mean cash!

Wow lots of damage, hope all persons involved are ok. Prayers to the boat owner in these pictures.

I'm 63 and have had a bass boat since the early 80''s (they wouldn't run 70mph back then) and just took a free boater safety course on line. Took me about 3 hrs actual course time over 4 or 5 days. Don't necessarily think it will prevent me being in an accident but I learned some things I did not know. Course covered a bunch of stuff you may never need but is time well invested. We never get too old or too smart to learn. However, nothing will replace being alert and careful watching out for others.

Could have been mechanical issues, could have been operator error. Either way it's a good thing they ain't dragging for bodies.

Could you post a link to this course? Maybe it could help some.

BoatUS Boating Safety Course

The buoys south of 515 east have moved east really close to the timber just south of the bridge. When the water goes down be careful running on the east side of them (right side of them going north). I do not run to the right of the buoys going north there.

Mouth of Williams has some big stumps right by buoy marked by orange buoys.

I tend to run to the right of the buoys when possible as I know people treat them like a center dividing line but I seldom run the buoys at all south of 515 west and 154.

All need to follow right of way rules regardless if near the lane marker buoys or not .......

Saw on the book where the man in the accident passed away today. Prayers to the families.

Prayers sent for all involved

Wow, That's bad news.

Prayers to all involved.

Oh wow, prayers for the family.

One individual involved has been called home to the Lord. Rest In Peace Jack

That's sad news...

Sad to hear... Prayers for all involved

Prayers sent to the family and friends.

what is "the book" ???

Facebook

Which FB page? Amazing that there hasn't been any info on what happened considering if it's true that a person died from this accident.

It's on James Caldemeyer's Facebook page

Makes me sick to hear this. RIP and prayers for his family.

I do not believe anyone witnessed the accident. There is talk that people heard it and saw the aftermath.
The only people that know exactly what happened are the people in the boats that were involved. Then again,
they may not fully understand or remember. Someone lost their life and several peoples lives have changed
forever. If the info comes out on what exactly happened, hopefully it can be a learning experience for all
and a big wake up call for people to pay attention and learn how to operate their boats and respect others.

Hopefully, people will learn boats do not have brakes and they shouldn't be in such a hurry to catch fish.

prayers

Such a sad situation, that could have easily happened to any of us.

I am really surprised there isn't a course that is required for boater safety. Lake Fork can be crazy at times, but Mark Perry is right, I fish Joe Pool all the time and it is nuts out there with all the wake boards, skiers, jet ski's, drinking on the party boats (and those things are massive & fast) and I see a lot of young people flying around the lake w/o life jackets and it is dangerous. Prayers to all involved, its very sad and hits too close to home.

so sad. prayers up.

On a holiday weekend I think pool is worse than fork.

Prayers up.

When I moved to Alabama, I couldn't use my boat until I passed a boater safety course and took the approved paperwork to have an endorsement added to my DL.

That's just a revenue maker for the state

The man who died was my wife's Uncle Jack. We got word of this last night and I assumed the wreck was yesterday. He died of his injuries yesterday from my understanding. Jack was a good man, great fisherman, and highly respected. He was taking two neighborhood kids fishing as a graduation gift to them for completing High School. I only have very limited info on the actual accident. The account I've received is that the boater approached at high speed from the front and was waved off on the first pass. As Jack and kids were fishing stationary the boat came back around from behind. This time they were not able to flag the go-fast driver off. I got word that possible manslaughter due to alcohol may be a possibility. It's real hard getting info now due to ongoing investigation.

Addressing the other posts about boating, boat drivers, etc... I am a licensed master captain of 80 Tons. Formerly 300 Ton Master. It is absolutely insane what I see going on while just out fishing inland lakes. 90% of the boaters I see on the water break maritime laws simply because they don't know there are laws on how to overtake other vessels. There are laws that dictate how close you can be to another vessel when underway! There are rules of the road in boating just like rules of the road on land. I truly wish everyone had to get a drivers license to operate a motor vessel just like driving a motor vehicle. This wouldn't stop a BWI driver but would decrease many boating accidents due to uninformed, uneducated boaters. That's my soapbox speech. So, let's all try and be safer and more courteous out there. Hopefully other families will be able to keep their Uncle Jack. If anyone has any other info on this accident please PM me. Thanks! Curtis

Sorry for your loss, praying for you and your family.

Sorry to hear that.

I was thinking some type of impairment was involved due to location and conditions of the day.

Speed demons trying to pass another slower boat from behind forget they have no brakes when the guy ahead trys to turn into a cove or slow suddenly to fish a spot.

Sorry to hear of this tragedy, LF. I had posted the above before reading the entire thread. My apology. Take care.

Prayers to the families of those involved.
Not saying this is what happened as nobody knows just yet.
Locally I see it all the time, people drinking and talking and even the captain piloting the boat is facing rearward talking and laughing not paying attention to where the boat is going....Throw in speed and a crowded lake it's a disaster waiting to happen.
In a lot of cases a boating course wouldn't do any good, and too bad there isn't a course on common sense.

It's ok. Thanks

Prayers to the family. Sad news...... I presumed drugs, guns and/or alcohol when I heard they left scene. Usually the case to dump evidence, driver, or contraband ....try to sober up and then call. Also sounds like it may have been intentional as from story above the boat turned around and came back after passing too close......