As attorneys dealing with catastrophic injury cases on a daily basis, you would think that we would become accustomed to tragedies such as these. But for reasons which I can't explain, this latest tragedy (coupled with another recent case of ours in which a mother of three burned to death in a horrific traffic accident) hits me harder than ever.
We represent the families of two individuals who recently died in a tragic boating accident, and much like these families, we are also seeking answers as to what happened. According to articles in the Dallas Morning News, Oklahoma investigators are trying to determine why two high-performance boats collided while participating in a "poker run" on Lake Texoma, killing five people, including a well-known former race car driver.Investigators with the Oklahoma Lake Patrol plan to reconstruct the two boats to try and gather clues about how and why the boats collided Saturday, said Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper Kera Philippi.
"They're going to investigate the mechanics of both boats, too, and not just focus on whether it was driver error," Philippi said. "The driver of the second boat is still alive, so they're going to want to talk to him."
The accident occurred about 12:30 p.m. Saturday near Willis in far southern Oklahoma, about 130 miles south of Oklahoma City.
Bruce Gibson, 54, of Old Hickory, Tenn., the lone survivor of the crash, was in fair condition Sunday at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. His wife, Myra L. Gibson, 51, died at the scene. Bruce Gibson was driving "Nashville Catz," a 43-foot, high-performance Nor-Tech boat, Philippi said.
The other victims were Rockwall, Texas, residents Gordon Mineo, 61, his wife, Ann Mineo, 59, and Little Elm, Texas, residents Amy Dawn Lane, 31, and Justin R. Lane, 25, Philippi said. Mineo was driving a 2001 Eliminater, a 36-foot, offshore race boat nicknamed "Flash Gordon," the OHP reported.
