[StBernard] Fatal boating accident in St. Bernard happened near blind turn

[Westley Annis]

Fatal boating accident in St. Bernard happened near blind turn

wwltv.com

Posted on June 16, 2011 at 7:35 PM

Updated today at 7:35 PM

Maya Rodriguez / Eyewitness News

BRETON SOUND, La. -- An investigation is underway into a deadly boating
accident in the waters of St. Bernard Parish. 66-year-old Donald Neal, Sr.,
was killed in the accident, and his passenger, 50-year-old Antoine
Broadwater, is in serious condition after two boats collided in the waters
near Breton Sound around 6 a.m.

The survivors of Wednesday morning's boating accident emerged from a
harrowing experience on the water, after two boats collided, an aluminum
18-foot vessel with two people on board and a 25-foot fiber glass boat
carrying seven people.

"We just brought people in," said Kevin Roussell, a St. Bernard oil and gas
worker. "We were just going to work and we were just trying to help out, to
transport people."

The accident happened in a waterway known as the Back Levee Canal. It used
to be an alternate way to get from Hopedale out to Breton Sound, but things
changed several years ago.

While it's not clear yet what caused this morning's accident, ever since the
MR-GO closed, more boating traffic has shifted here to the Back Levee Canal,
which is narrower and has a number of blind turns.

"It's been a concern since the closure of the MR-GO, that it puts more
boaters traffic here on these smaller canals and the potential for
accidents, more boater traffic, would obviously increase," said St. Bernard
Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Sheriff James Pohlmann.

"When you pull up on this turn, you can't see any traffic coming from the
left," said Capt. Brian Clark of the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office Marine
Division.

The Marine Division of the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office brought Eyewitness
News down the Back Levee Canal, showing just how treacherous the waterway
can be.

"There's several turns like this, which creates dangers," Clark said. "If it
was a straight shot, you know you'd have a lot of time to make decision.
When you're coming up on a turn, traveling at a high rate of speed, your
decision making goes down within seconds."

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries say they patrol the area advising
boaters to be careful in the Back Levee Canal.

"This is the first really bad occurrence we've had since the dam was built.
We strive to do our best, as far as advising people, the marina people here
at the marina tell people of it as well. It's just one of those things,
people have to exercise caution, safety," said Scott Keller of Louisiana
Wildlife and Fisheries.

But experienced boaters here say they fear the potential for another
accident is still there.

"I feel like I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, because there
are so many turns in this canal," said Glenn Sanchez of the Breton Sound
Marina. "People want to go so fast to go fishing."