MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. – A boat capsized in Macomb County because there were too many people on board, and video shows the rescue as people started to panic.
It happened Monday (Aug. 11) night in Black Creek in Harrison Township, near the entrance to Metropolitan Beach.
Lieutenant Gary Wiegand with the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division said the 17-foot boat was over capacity, causing the boat to take on water.
“People on board started to panic a little bit. As the passengers on board all went and moved to one side of the boat, the weight of those passengers caused the boat to actually capsize,” said Wiegand.
Body camera video caught the moments when deputies rescued 10 passengers, including several children, from the water.
When deputies arrived on scene, another boater had also jumped in to help.
In the video, the children on board are seen wearing life jackets, but Wiegand said not all passengers had the chance to get one on.
“When our deputies arrived on scene, they saw multiple life jackets floating in the water,” Wiegand said. “So the people onboard the boat, although they had life jackets, they didn’t have the time to put the life jacket on before the boat flipped over.”
The sheriff’s office is now stressing the importance of wearing a life jacket at all times while boating.
Michigan law requires that boaters have a U.S Coast Guard-approved life jacket for every passenger on board.
Under state law, children under the age of six are required to wear a life jacket on board.
Wiegand also urged boaters to double-check the capacity of their boat before heading out on the water.
“Check the capacity plate on your boat,” Wiegand said. “Every boat has one; the U.S Coast Guard requires that. The capacity plate will tell you the passengers and the weight limit on board.”