Long Beach boat crash leaves 1 dead, 10 taken to the hospital
One man died and 10 people were taken to the hospital after a boat crash in Long Beach Wednesday, according to the Long Beach Fire Department.
It happened in Alamitos Bay and paramedics responded at 9:21 p.m., said Jake Heflin, a fire department spokesperson. Lifeguards and firefighters who were assisting with the water rescue said the 48-foot boat crashed into the jetty off of Marina Way.
The man who died was identified on Friday as 59-year-old John Correa.
There was a total of 11 people aboard and three were left in critical condition, fire officials said. Between four and five people had to be rescued from the boat and the rest were rescued from the jetty.
The night of the incident, fire officials said four people sustained serious injuries. All were in stable condition as of Friday.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation but authorities said speed is believed to be a possible factor.
"The yacht was traveling at a high rate of speed," said U.S. Coast Guard's Richard Uranga. "Don't know if it was also related to alcohol, because of the high rate of speed and it was at night."
Some people who visited the area Thursday for the Fourth of July said that there was a bittersweet feeling on the day after learning of the tragedy.
"It's certainly tragic when somebody loses their life at any time, but on a holiday it becomes a staple in your mind," said Hilliard Hampton, who was visiting the area from Michigan.