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Man Dies After Falling From Yacht In Gulf

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Sarasota Herald-Tribune Staff Report

Published: November 25, 2007

Updated: 11/26/2007 06:13 am

ANNA MARIA ISLAND - A boat propeller struck and killed a man Sunday after he was thrown from a yacht powering through rough water in the Gulf of Mexico, authorities said. State marine patrol officers identified the victim as Henry Ogden, 49, of Sarasota. He was tossed from the boat at about 4 p.m.

The operator of the 42-foot Cruisers Yacht was steering the boat through wakes left by other vessels, said Lt. Jon Dobbs of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Authorities said Ogden fell from the front of the boat, which traveled over him. The boat propeller struck his head, causing a massive head injury. Longboat Key Police got Ogden to shore, where he was pronounced dead.

Dobbs said there were about eight people on the yacht. On Sunday, investigators were questioning the boat operator and the passengers, whom they did not name. The operator of the boat is expected to undergo a blood-alcohol test, routine in cases involving a death.

Wake jumping can be considered reckless boating, but each case is different, Dobbs said. Operating a boat recklessly is a misdemeanor.

Ogden was the owner of Venice Island Pedicab, a taxi business he launched in 2001 to shuttle island residents and visitors around downtown on a three-wheeled cycle.

Last year, 69 people were killed in boating accidents in Florida, according to the Coast Guard. Fifteen of those deaths were individuals who fell overboard, the leading cause of death. Florida led the nation in boating fatalities.

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