Boat owner: Coast Guard vessel hit his boat from behind in deadly collision in San Diego Bay

Boat owner: Coast Guard vessel struck from behind

SAN DIEGO — The owner of a boat involved in a deadly collision in San Diego Bay says a Coast Guard vessel struck his boat from behind after turning around.

Roger DeWeese told The Associated Press on Monday that his 44-year-old son was driving his boat Sunday when the Coast Guard vessel sped through a harbor where a Christmas watercraft parade was being held.

DeWeese says his son told him the Coast Guard vessel turned around, and he thought it was going to turn away from his boat. Instead, he says it hit his boat from behind as he tried to speed away.

DeWeese says his 8-year-old grandson, Anthony DeWeese, was killed. Five other were seriously injured.

Neither boat was participating in the parade.

The Coast Guard declined comment, citing an ongoing investigation

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine what led to the collision of a Coast Guard vessel and a pleasure boat that killed an 8-year-old boy and seriously injured five other people.

Agencies investigating the crash couldn’t provide an update early Monday. San Diego police, the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board are involved in the investigation.

The accident occurred Sunday as a 33-foot Coast Guard patrol boat was responding to a report of a grounded vessel.

Fire officials say five people aboard the 24-foot pleasure cruiser suffered serious injuries, some of them life-threatening.

The crash occurred while a holiday watercraft parade was under way. Neither boat was participating in the event.

None of the five people aboard the Coast Guard boat was hurt