Hero Saved Two Lives After
Crash into Fish Nets on Patuxent

 

By Kenneth C. Rossignol

ST. MARY’S TODAY

BENEDICT --- A return trip up the Patuxent River on Monday night, not long after the fireworks ended at Solomon’s Island, turned into tragedy for a boat full of Southern Maryland residents when the small vessel hit a line of commercial fishing nets.

One person was killed and two others would have likely met the same fate had it not been for the heroic efforts of one man on board who had the presence of mind to dive repeatedly into the water searching for the three persons ejected from the 19’ Stingray.

Maryland Natural Resources Police spokesman Cpl. Ken Turner said that Jesse T. Johnson, 26, of Temple Hills was not thrown from the vessel but quickly dove into the water to began retrieving his fellow occupants after realizing that they were missing.

Cpl. Turner said that Johnson found first one and then the second person, identified as Jessica Faye Davis, 26, of Prince Frederick and Sherri Ann Burns, 24, of Waldorf.   At about the same time, which was around 10:45 pm, someone on the boat may have used a cell phone to call for help.  Police are not sure of the exact way of notification but help began to arrive quickly. 

A United States Park Police helicopter flew to the scene to assist with lighting and searching for the missing operator of the speed boat, identified as Gregory A. Bucklew, 31, of Waldorf.  Also assisting were NRP police, U.S. Coast Guard and fire and rescue units from Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties with the Charles County Dive Team employing their new side scan sonar. 

Just about 1:20 am the Maryland State Police Helicopter Trooper Seven arrived to relieve the Park Police chopper which was running low on fuel.

At about that time the side scan sonar located the body of Bucklew and divers recovered his body.

The body was taken to the Maryland State Medical Examiner for an autopsy which revealed that Bucklew died from the impact with the fishing net poles combined with drowning.

The others on board were identified as Robert Daniel Burns, 26, of Waldorf, who was flown to a shock trauma center; Ashley Christine Thorne, 23, of Mechanicsville, who was taken to Calvert Memorial Hospital along with Johnson and Sherri Burns. Davis was also flown to a trauma center.

The fishing nets are known as Pound Nets and according to police are legally placed and marked with appropriate reflectors at the ends of the poles as well as with reflective tape where required. 

Operators of vessels are required to know the river and to be familiar with obstructions such as fish nets, channel markers, duck blinds and sand bars and to operate at speeds which will allow them safe passage around these obstructions.

Even for experienced boaters, darkness provides new challenges with a dimly lit night with no moon, such as was the case on Monday, leaving little to navigate by unless the vessel is equipped with radar and GPS aids, which are not normal equipment on a boat the size of that involved in the wreck on July 4^th.

Operators of small craft which flock to Maryland waters on holiday weekends often do not observe safety rules and Maryland Natural Resource Police are planning an alcohol enforcement action on the Patuxent this summer before Labor Day, said Cpl. Turner.  Police still have this tragic crash under investigation and have not determined what factors were involved in terms of alcohol or speed or even if those on board were wearing life jackets.

The fishing nets were not in the main channel for navigation but were placed towards the Calvert County side of the river.  The nets are a series of tall poles which are driven into the river bottom with fish nets stretched between them to catch fish swimming with the tides and currents. While there are no lights on the nets, the boating traffic is expected to use their search lights to pick out the nets and avoid them.   The rules for placement of the fishing nets are posted on the DNR website.