CLAY COUNTY, Fla. -- Clay County Sheriff's Office booking photo of Ted Hanner
Next month, a 49-year-old Middleburg man will be in court after a boating accident that killed his son and his son's friend.
Ted Hanner is charged with reckless operation of a boat.
In February, investigators said, Hanner left the controls of his boat moments before it crashed into a low-lying tree on Black Creek.
Travis Hanner, 17, and Halee Mickey, 15, died from the impact.
The tree branch still hangs over the water, despite talk about cutting it down. Most boaters probably wouldn't even notice the tree, which is a half-mile east of Mariners Road in Green Cove Springs. It looks like all the other low-lying trees on Black Creek.
But it's the one all the talk is about that changed two Clay County families forever.
"I mean, I wake up every morning when I do sleep," Ted Hanner said in March, crying about the tragic accident just days after it happened. "Beautiful boy, and I'm going to miss him."
Hanner, his son, Travis, and Travis' friend, Halee, climbed into their 18-foot Baja fishing boat on Feb. 21, President's Day, as is detailed in a newly released report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The three cruised around for hours, and Ted Hanner later told police he noticed something was wrong with the engine.
Travis Hanner and Halee Mickey
Hanner told investigators that he had been having engine problems all day long and that he had to go to the back of the boat to check the motor and pump the fuel bulb, which, in effect, pushed more fuel into the engine. Hanner was doing this moments before the accident, according to the report.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife report, Hanner admitted the throttle was engaged as he tried to rev up the engine. When the engine fired back up, he was more than six feet away from the controls, according to the report. The boat shot forward and turned hard right, heading straight for a low-lying tree at faster than 25 mph, according to the report.
Hanner said the last thing he saw before impact was his son trying to push Halee out of harm's way.
I would think that you would have several seconds to get to the wheel from the time the boat hit WOT to the time it was able to go "faster than 25 mph"
Also will priming the pump make a motor take off?
Next month, a 49-year-old Middleburg man will be in court after a boating accident that killed his son and his son's friend.
Ted Hanner is charged with reckless operation of a boat.
In February, investigators said, Hanner left the controls of his boat moments before it crashed into a low-lying tree on Black Creek.
Travis Hanner, 17, and Halee Mickey, 15, died from the impact.
The tree branch still hangs over the water, despite talk about cutting it down. Most boaters probably wouldn't even notice the tree, which is a half-mile east of Mariners Road in Green Cove Springs. It looks like all the other low-lying trees on Black Creek.
But it's the one all the talk is about that changed two Clay County families forever.
"I mean, I wake up every morning when I do sleep," Ted Hanner said in March, crying about the tragic accident just days after it happened. "Beautiful boy, and I'm going to miss him."
Hanner, his son, Travis, and Travis' friend, Halee, climbed into their 18-foot Baja fishing boat on Feb. 21, President's Day, as is detailed in a newly released report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The three cruised around for hours, and Ted Hanner later told police he noticed something was wrong with the engine.
Travis Hanner and Halee Mickey
Hanner told investigators that he had been having engine problems all day long and that he had to go to the back of the boat to check the motor and pump the fuel bulb, which, in effect, pushed more fuel into the engine. Hanner was doing this moments before the accident, according to the report.
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife report, Hanner admitted the throttle was engaged as he tried to rev up the engine. When the engine fired back up, he was more than six feet away from the controls, according to the report. The boat shot forward and turned hard right, heading straight for a low-lying tree at faster than 25 mph, according to the report.
Hanner said the last thing he saw before impact was his son trying to push Halee out of harm's way.
I would think that you would have several seconds to get to the wheel from the time the boat hit WOT to the time it was able to go "faster than 25 mph"
Also will priming the pump make a motor take off?
