BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) – Alabama has already had its deadliest year in two decades for boaters – and the summer isn’t nearly over yet.
Boating accidents in the first 6 months of 2019 have killed 25 people, Al.com reported .
Already, that makes this year the deadliest one since 1998, when 32 people died. The number of deaths so far this year is already higher than year-end totals for the past several years.
This July alone, 12 crashes resulted in six deaths.
“In my 24 years of doing this, I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Capt. Gary Buchanan, the commander of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Marine Patrol.