(WSVN) - A peaceful night on the water turned into pandemonium for one South Florida couple after a boat crashed into their sailboat and took off. Kevin Ozebek has tonight’s 7 Investigates.
Lance and Catia Dombrowski love to spend time on their sailboat. The Moody Blues has always been their happy place.
Catia: “Not so happy anymore.”
That’s because of what happened Labor Day weekend. They were anchored just off Key Biscayne spending the night when Catia suddenly saw a boat heading straight toward them.
Catia: “I see this huge monster, this motorboat coming straight towards the back of our boat.”
She ran for the cabin.
Catia: “I thought I was going to die or get really, really hurt.”
Their anchor and cabin lights were on, but still, the boat kept coming. It hit them in the back on the right side.
Lance: “I got knocked off my feet. You could hear just crunching going on.”
After the crash, Catia shot this video on her cell phone.
The picture is blurry, but you can hear music blasting from the boat that hit them. It sailed away as if nothing had happened
Lance: “He just did not stop, did not care.”
In shock, the couple called the Coast Guard, but were told boat accidents should be reported to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Lance: “Because this whole thing happened on 1 in the morning and FWC came in 1 in the afternoon to report the issue, which, you know, it doesn’t give me a lot of security as far as, you know, personnel to investigate.”
FWC tells us: “Officers searched for vessels matching the description provided in the area the striking vessel was thought to be headed. No boats matching the description were seen.”
The Dombrowski’s say that’s not good enough. They are searching for the boat as well.
Lance: “We’re not going to stop looking.”
Catia has posted video and pictures of the boat on social media. She’s also been going from marina to marina looking for a boat with damage to the left front. She knows the boat that hit her is scraped up since the Moody Blues was damaged from the impact.
Catia: “The lifeline rail is gone. It was just ripped out. There’s parts that were just ripped out of the deck.”
Kevin Ozebek: “You really want to find this person don’t you.”
Catia: “I do.”
FWC says hit-and-runs on the water are on the rise. There have been 11 reported so far this year in South Florida waters. Last year, a record 13 hit-and-runs were reported.
That’s compared to eight in 2020 and just three in 2019.
Kevin Ozebek: “How long are you going to keep up the search for this boat?”
Catia: “As long as I can.”
The Dombrowskis want to make sure that whoever was piloting this boat is caught before he or she hits anyone else. If you know anything about the crime, you’re asked to call FWC at 888-404-FWCC (3922). Cellphone users can also call *FWC or #FWC or send a text to Tip@MyFWC.com.
Kevin Ozebek, 7News.
CONTACT 7 INVESTIGATES:
305-627-CLUE
954-921-CLUE
7Investigates@wsvn.com
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.