Four people without life jackets ‘lucky’ to be alive after boat capsizes
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BINGHAM COUNTY — Four people are safe and considered fortunate to walk away without injuries after a boat they were on capsized Sunday evening when they weren’t wearing life jackets.
The incident happened at 6 p.m. The 14-foot drift boat collided with some trees just north of the Tilden Bridge on the Snake River in Bingham County. It ended up capsizing, according to Deputy Shawn Humphreys with the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol.
All four ended up in the water. Three of them were able to climb on top of a tree that was in the river. One person remained in the water, he said.
“We were able to get there pretty quick, and we got them off the tree that they were on in the middle of the river, and there was one guy in the water that we were able to get out,” Humphreys said.
He told EastIdahoNews.com that everyone was cold, but they were all OK. EMS checked them out on the scene and nobody was taken to the hospital.
They were lucky, Humphreys said, especially since they were not wearing life jackets. There were life jackets on the boat, but he reminds people recreating out on the water how important it is to wear them.
“If life jackets aren’t worn in a situation, it’s hard to put them on after the incident actually occurs. It’s recommended on the river to wear them because after something happens, it’s too late,” he said.
The boat in this incident was recovered, and the scene was cleared around 8:30 p.m.
“We were able to get some air under it (the boat) with a scuba tank and float it back to the surface. We got it back to shore and turned it back over and got all the water out of it,” Humphreys said.
