ALEA urges boat safety following 2 crashes in under a week

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — On the heels of two boat crashes in under a week, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is urging extreme caution for boaters.

As the weather warms up, the wake on Alabama waters will only grow.

“Having this bulletproof vest on, right? In law enforcement, we say, ‘It’s cheap insurance,” said Lt. Jeremy Burkett with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. “It’s cheap insurance for me to protect my life.”

Burkett wants you to protect your life, too, especially out on the water. Last week’s boating crash at Smith Lake claimed the lives of three. That’s why Burkett is pushing boater safety.

“You may have not done it in six months, or you may not have done it in seven months, and now some of the stuff is at the back of your mind,” Burkett said. “So we need to bring it around to the front of everybody’s mind.”

The other crash involved two vessels at Logan Martin Lake in St. Clair County on Saturday. No injuries were reported.

Burkett said the most important thing is to make sure your boat is ready to go. That means having enough gas and a plan if something goes wrong on the water. If you’re inexperienced, Burkett said to make sure you have an experienced boater with you, especially if it’s during low light times.

“That’s a bad situation if you have a mechanical failure or something like that in the middle of the interstate,” Burkett said. “But it’s completely different if you’re in the middle of a body of water, right? What are you going to have to help you?”

Burkett said the greatest help of all is a life vest. He said you never know when you’ll end up in the water.

“There’s a tremendous chance that you could go down, and you could drown, or something bad could happen to you or somebody that’s with you,” Burkett said. “So those are the things that we want people to just be aware of.”

Burkett said the ALEA works year-round to ensure the safety of everyone on and off the waters.