Florida speed boat crashes leaves 3 dead and 1 critically injured

A fatal boating accident has left three dead and one seriously injured after the vessel flipped on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

The 39-foot speedboat capsized with four people aboard at around 4 p.m. on Saturday in the Caloosahatchee River near the Cape Coral Yacht Club between Cape Coral and Fort Myers, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told WSVN.

During a multi-agency search involving the Fort Myers Police Department and the US Coast Guard, three victims were recovered from the river after the deadly crash.

Two were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said, while the third was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition.

The US Coast Guard recovered the fourth victim’s body from the river on Sunday after an extensive search, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said.

Authorities have not yet identified the victims.

Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission public information officer Bradley Johnson told the Naples Daily News that the boat’s motors appeared to have come off the vessel during the incident.

Officials have yet to reveal what caused the boat to capsize, but said the wind may have played a factor.

A witness who filmed the aftermath reported seeing it racing just before it flipped.

“Yes, I just so happened to look out the window,” the witness told WSVN.

“I looked — those boats are racing — and then as soon as everybody looked, the boat was upside down.”

The unidentified witness said he was watching from the opposite riverbank when he spotted the boat tearing past.

“He was going real fast for that to happen,” he said.

The witness said that the boat was “up in the air” for about three to four seconds before it crashed.

“I saw a crash, all the water was just all over the place. It was pretty wild,” he said.

Other witnesses posted video of the vessel flipped in the water, and separate footage from the shoreline documented first responders positioned around the Cape Coral Yacht Club, WSVN reported.

The Coast Guard said the cause of the boating accident is still under investigation.

Johnson also thanked other boaters for rushing over to help while first responders arrived at the scene of the fatal crash.

“I know there were good Samaritans immediately that saw it and rushed to help,” Johnson told the Naples Daily News.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported 76 fatal boating accidents in 2024, resulting in 81 deaths — more than any other state.