An airboat-tour company involved in Friday’s boating accident in the Everglades has broken the peace. A crash in Collier County sent 16 people to local hospitals.
“Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours regrets that a collision between two airboats occurred this afternoon…” the Ochopee company posted in a statement Friday, Dec. 13. recovery.”
Wooten reopened for business Saturday. The company did not respond to requests for comment from the Naples Daily News.
Details about the Everglades airboat accident in Collier County
FWC, crews and other first responders work at Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours in Ochopee, Fla., after two airboats crashed on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading the investigation into the accident, but no new information about the patients or the accident was available as of Saturday, according to FWC public information director Hailee Seely.
The accident happened around 3:15 p.m. Friday near Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours, located on Tamiami Trail/US 41 in Collier County, Seely wrote Friday. It consisted of two airships carrying 33 people.
“Preliminary information indicates that two airships, one with 20 people and the other with 13 people, were near Ochopee when they collided, causing multiple injuries,” Seely wrote in an email on Friday. “This is an open investigation. No further information is available at this time.”
In a statement from the airboat company, Wooten’s said it “immediately contacted local authorities, who responded quickly to the incident, providing assistance to passengers. Following the accident, we began working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the sheriff’s office to assist in their ongoing investigation.”
Two airships collided Friday, December 13, 2024, near Ochopee in the Everglades. The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading an investigation into Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours. Sixteen people were taken to local hospitals, according to the FWC.
FWC is investigating the crash with assistance from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Greater Naples Fire and Rescue and Collier County Emergency Medical Services.
– Charles Runnells is a sports and entertainment reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. To reach him, call 239-335-0368 (for show tickets, call the location) or email him at crunnells@gannett.com.
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This article originally appeared on the Naples Daily News: Everglades airboat crash: Wooten’s issues statement about Collier