Boats collided; husband & wife killed
Published 4:10 pm Monday, May 11, 2015
A Sedley couple died on the Chowan River where it forms when the Blackwater and Nottoway rivers merge at the North Carolina and Virginia state line. Doug and Angela Martin died when their boat collided with another bass boat in the approximate area marked by a red line. The driver and passenger of the other boat, also registered in Virginia, declined medical treatment and received minor injuries. Officials did not release their names due to the continuing investigation. — JEFF TURNER | TIDEWATER NEWS
By Cal Bryant
Roanoke-Chowan News Herald
Special to The Tidewater News
GATES, NC
A Sedley couple died Saturday afternoon during a boating accident on the Chowan River in Gates County, North Carolina, just across the Virginia border.
Douglas Martin, 42, and his 35-year-old wife, Angela, were killed when two boats collided on the river just south of the state line, according to information from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Martin was a native of Milwaukee in Northampton County, North Carolina.
The driver and passenger of the other boat received minor injuries and refused medical treatment. The NCWRC has yet to release their names, citing the continuing investigation. However, the NCWRC did confirm that both boats involved in the accident were registered in Virginia.
Lt. Mark Rich, the NCWRC Supervisor for 14 northeastern North Carolina counties, said Martin was operating a 16-foot bass boat southbound on the Chowan River at the time of the 2:45 p.m. accident.
“The only witnesses we have are the two survivors, who said they were northbound, operating a 17-foot bass boat, on the Chowan River and saw the other boat, operated by an individual later identified as Douglas Martin, coming toward them,” Rich said. “The two boats then collided, causing the 17-foot boat to become airborne where it passed over the top of the 16-foot boat, from bow to stern.
“At some point, we believe — pending the medical examiner’s report — that Mr. and Mrs. Martin were struck by the boat that was airborne. Their bodies were recovered from inside the boat,” Rich added.
According to Gates County officials, the original 911 call was received by emergency responders in the City of Franklin. Due to not knowing the exact location of the accident, Franklin launched its rescue effort on the Nottoway River, which eventually merges with the Blackwater River near the state line to form the Chowan River.
Meanwhile, search and rescue boats were launched by Hertford and Gates County emergency response teams as well as the NCWRC.
“We later learned that the Franklin boats were the first on the scene, and they notified the North Carolina responders that they had located the accident scene on the Chowan River in our state,” Rich said.
NCWRC officer Brandon Wilkins is in charge of the investigation, which is continuing.
There were two fishing tournaments scheduled on the river Saturday, said Riverkeeper Jeff Turner.
