April 21, 2007 — A St. John man, now identified as Joseph "Tash" Allen, is dead after a boating accident just outside of Cruz Bay sometime after 4 p.m. Saturday.
Little is known about the single boat accident, but Chief John Bowman of St. John Rescue said, "All I know is he wrecked his boat (and) he was traveling at a high rate of speed when he wrecked it."
Bowman said it was a "go fast boat."
Another source said Allen, a V.I. Port Authority employee, had been working on the vessel earlier in the week. There was speculation the engine may have blown up. That source said the boat was called Bad News Travels Fast.
Chief Carl Fleming of V.I. Search and Rescue said they got the call at 4:26 p.m. By the time he arrived on the scene, somewhere between the reef and Stevens Cay, three divers were already in the water, Fleming said.
Both Fleming and Bowman lauded the efforts of the agencies involved, as well as the private citizens who responded.
"Within 15 minutes there were six boats at the scene," Bowman said.
Also responding were personnel from St. Thomas Rescue, V.I. Police Department, Planning and Natural Resources, Blue Lightning, V.I. Port Authority and U.S. Coast Guard.
Back Talk
Share your reaction to this news with other Source readers. Please include headline, your name and city and state/country or island where you reside.
